A BLUE AND WHITE 'FISH' CHARGER YUAN DYNASTY, 14TH CENTURY

potted with shallow rounded sides rising from a straight foot to an everted rim, painted in deep cobalt blue on the interior with a large mandarin fish with characteristic spots, circular pectoral and tail fins and a spiky dorsal fin, swimming among water-weed, clover fern and other aquatic plants, encircled on the cavetto by a lotus scroll below a diaper border on the rim, the exterior similarly decorated with six lotus blooms with white centres on an undulating scroll, the unglazed base fired to a pale orange

Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, The British Museum, London, 1994.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 635.

There is a large 'C'-shaped restored break running from about between 3 and 4 o'clock extending to about 8 o'clock and covering about the lower 1/3 of the charger. From about 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock the rim has been rebuilt. As part of this larger break, there is a smaller 'V'-shaped restuck chip at about 3 and 4 o'clock extending to about between 4 and 5'oclock. There is also a chip between 7 and 9 o'clock extending to the cavetto (approx.9cm). From about 10-11 o'clock there is a restuck chip extending to the lotus on the cavetto, with a little re-building of the rim. There are minor bits of kiln grit on the interior. The cobalt is well controlled with typical heaping and piling.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The mandarin-fish motif is a classic Yuan design and one of the most impressive.

A number of dishes of this design are preserved, but they vary considerably in their execution, the present piece being particularly powerful. A similar dish in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, ed. John Ayers, London, 1986, vol. II, no. 568; another in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, is published in Nakazawa Fujio and Hasegawa Shoko, Chūgoku no tōji / Chinese Ceramics, vol. 8, Gen Min no seika / Blue-and-White in Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Tokyo, 1995, pl 15; and one with the character chun ('spring') incised on the fish before glazing, formerly in the Ardabil Shrine and now in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran, is published in John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pl. 9. A very similar dish with drilled owner's marks on the base, probably added in the Middle East, was sold in our London rooms, 5th April 1960, lot 20.