Rare Brown Glazed Chrysanthemum Dish. China. Yongzheng Mark and period (1723 - 1735)

porcelain. Diameter 6 7/8 inches. Price On Request

Note: The dish is finely potted with a foliate rim formed by forty-four moulded petals with fluted tips radiating out from the slightly sunken well, the lobed underside continuing to the similarly moulded foot. Covered overall with an evenly applied coffee-brown glaze, the base glazed white with the six-character mark of Yongzheng within a double blue circle.

Inspiration for these elegant and distinctive forms is derived from Song Dynasty lacquer. The Yongzheng emperor was enamoured of Song design and in possession of fine examples of the period. His passion for these archaistic pieces was such that he commissioned the famous court painter Giuseppe Castiglione to document many of his favourite pieces in a series of scroll paintings entitled Pictures of Ancient Playthings. For further discussion on this subject see China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795.exh. Royal Academy of Fine Arts, London, 2005. pps. 242-245. or Jeannette Shambaugh Elliott. The Odyssey of China’s Imperial Art Treasures. Seattle, 2005. pps. 48-55.

Berwald Oriental Art. New York. Email: info@berwald-oriental.com (all text & images © Berwald Oriental Art)