Lot 1042. Property from the Alita Davis Weaver Reed Collection. A pair of imperial yellow-glazed dishes, Zhengde six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1506-1521); 17.5 cm diam. Estimate USD 60,000 – USD 80,000 Price Realised USD 201,600. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Samuel Craft Davis (1871-1940) Collection, St. Louis, Missouri.
William Bigler (1908-1979) and Alita Davis (1905-1988) Weaver Collection, Greenwich, Connecticut.
Nathaniel Pryor (1933-2018) and Alita Davis Weaver (1941-2023) Reed Collection, Jupiter Island, Florida, and thence by descent within the family.

Note: Monochrome yellow glazes were typically used to decorate dishes and bowls in the late 15th-16th centuries, such as the present pair of dishes. Although they are believed to have been manufactured for the sole use of the imperial court, it appears that some also found their way abroad, probably as diplomatic gifts. John Alexander Pope mentions that there are sixteen monochrome yellow-glazed wares amongst the Chinese porcelains dedicated to the Ardebil Shrine by Shah Abbas in 1611. These sixteen pieces date to the Hongzhi, Zhengde, Jiajing and Wanli periods. See J. A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, 1956, p. 151.

For two similar dishes, see J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 205, nos. 8:27 and 8:28. A similar yellow-glazed dish with Zhengde six-character mark was sold at Christie’s New York, 14 September 2017, lot 735.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 19-20 September 2024