A large blue and white 'lotus bouquet' dish. Yongle

The central medallion vividly painted in cobalt blue showing characteristic 'heaping and piling' with a ribboned bouquet of lotus flowers and arrowhead plants, the cavetto painted with a composite floral scroll including chrysanthemum, lotus, rose, tree peony and pomegranate blossoms, below a wave border decorated with crested waves in reserve, the undersides similarly painted with a composite floral scroll, between a classic scroll below the rim and a key-fret border above the foot (broken and restuck). 41cm (16¼in) diam. Sold for £18,000

Exhibited: The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, circa 1987.
Linden Museum, Stuttgart, circa 1993.

Notes: The central 'lotus bouquet' design is one of the most recognised designs of the early Ming Dynasty period. The design varies in the central medallion, but more so in the secondary decoration of the composite floral scroll on the cavetto and undersides and the narrow borders below the rim and above the foot. A dish of similar design to the present lot is in the Topkapi Saray, Istanbul, illustrated by R. Krahl and J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, vol.II. Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelains, London, 1986, Catalogue no. 604, TKS 15/1454. J.A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981, pls.30-31, lists seven dishes of this design and size and other 'lotus bouquet' dishes of different size and with variations in the central and secondary design, now in the Archaeological Museum, Teheran.

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