A 'LONGQUAN' CELADON 'TWIN FISH' DISH SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

with shallow rounded sides rising to a broad flat rim, the interior applied with a pair of sprig-molded scaly fish swimming in opposite directions, the exterior carved with lotus petals radiating upwards from the foot, all under a semi-transparent and lustrous sea-green glaze stopping neatly around the unfired orange-gray foot, Japanese wood box

Gakuji Hasebe, Seizo Hayashiya, Chugoku kotoji jyou [Ancient Chinese Ceramics], Tokyo, 1971, no. 126. 

The dish has a minor star crack to the base. There is minor wear to the surface consistent with age and use, but the glaze remains glossy and bright.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Dishes of this popular ‘twin-fish’ design were produced from the Southern Song period to the Yuan dynasty. For an early example see a dish in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, included in the exhibition Ice and Green Clouds. Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1987, cat. no. 77, together with various related dishes and shards of both Song and Yuan periods, figs. 77a-g. Another Song example is published in Longquan qingci [Longquan celadon], Beijing, 1966, pl. 32; and one from the Riesco collection was sold twice in our London rooms, in 1984 and 1986, and again at Christie’s New York, 19th September 2007, lot 260.  See also a smaller example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, included in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 51; and another from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Stacey Pierson, Designs as Signs. Decoration and Chinese Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 11, where the author discusses the ‘twin-fish’ motif as an auspicious symbol of harmonious marriage and good fortune (p. 19).

A dish of this type, attributed to the Yuan dynasty, is included in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 218; two dishes recovered from a ship wrecked off the coast of Korea in 1323 are illustrated in Relics Salvaged from the Seabed off Sinan. Materials I, Seoul, 1985, pl. 11, no. 13; and another dish is published in T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East: Topkapi and Ardebil, Hong Kong, 1981, vol. III, pl. A230.