Lot 3011. A fine and rare large carved 'loquats' Longquan celadon barbed-rim charger, Hongwu period (1368-1398). Estimate HKD 3,000,000 - HKD 5,000,000 (USD 390,000 - USD 650,000). Price Realised HKD 4,220,000 (USD 544,279). © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

The sturdily potted dish well-carved to the interior with a central medallion of a fruiting loquat, encircled around the lobed rim with vertically arranged flowering branches below the lipped everted rim, the reverse with upright floral sprays below a scroll of blackberry lily to the underside of the rim, covered in an even celadon glaze of sea-green tone, an unglazed ring on the base burnt orange in the firing - 18 5/8 in. (47.4 cm.) wide, box 

Stylistic developments and aesthetic links between Longquan and Jingdezhen in the Hongwu reign
Rosemary Scott
International Academic Director, Asian Art

This large Longquan dish or charger is not only an exceptionally fine example of early Ming celadon, it also provides an important developmental link between the celadons of the Yuan dynasty and those of the early 15th century Ming dynasty reigns as well as an important aesthetic link between the fine celadon-glazed wares from the Longquan kilns and the imperial porcelains from Jingdezhen. 

In the mid-14th century, during the period when the Mongols ruled China as the Yuan dynasty, the kilns producing Longquan celadons and those producing porcelain at Jingdezhen adapted some of their finest ceramics to accommodate the tastes of patrons from the west of China's borders - either those currently resident in China or those who received Chinese ceramics as gifts or as part of the export trade. One of the shapes that appeared at both kiln sites was the large dish with bracket-lobed rim. In the Yuan dynasty the large dishes with bracket-lobed rims made at the Jingdezhen kilns did not have lobed sides, although a small number of those from the Longquan kilns did. A large Yuan dynasty dish with bracket-lobed rim and lobed sides from the collection of the Longquan Celadon Museum is illustrated in Longquan Celadon of China, Hangzhou, 1998, pl. 120. It is notable, however that the lobes are not so well defined as those on the current dish, nor do they have incised decoration. 

Towards the end of the Yuan dynasty the large dishes made at Jingdezhen and the Longquan kilns were more frequently made with simple flattened rims, without lobing. However with the advent of the new dynasty and the new impetus for ceramic production in the Hongwu reign bracket-lobed rims reappeared at both kilns, and with the added feature of lobing to the sides that conformed to the shape of the rims, In a relatively small number of Longquan dishes, including the current example, this lobing was executed with crisp precision, and combined with finely carved and incised decoration and particularly fine glaze, producing vessels of outstanding quality. It is interesting to note that not only was the form of the rim and sides of these dishes similar at both the Longquan and the Jingdezhen kilns (although the feet were of a different type at the two kiln sites), but the incised and carved decoration on the fine celadon wares also echoed that of the underglaze painting at Jingdezhen. 

It is particularly interesting to note that the decorators of the high-quality lobed celadon dishes of the late 14th century adopted the same approach to decorating the internal lobes as did the decorators at the imperial kilns at Jiongdezhen. While scrolling designs had been successful at both kiln sites on the interior walls of smooth-sided dishes, such scrolls would not have been especially successful on an undulating surface. The current celadon dish has a discrete formal floral spray incised in each lobe, which is remarkably similar to those seen on a similarly sized Hongwu dish painted in underglaze blue in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), vol. 34, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 23, no. 21). Formal floral sprays of this type can also be seen in the lobes of large Hongwu dishes excavated at the site of the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in 1994, such as those illustrated in Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelains excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1996, pp. 110-1, no. 23 and pp. 116, no. 26. 

While the depiction of naturally growing fruit on the branch became popular on the ceramics of the Yongle reign, fruit is very rarely seen on Hongwu vessels. This makes the fruiting loquat tree that forms the decoration of the central panel on the current dish particularly rare. A large (D: 55 cm.) Longquan dish of similar date and well-defined shape, with individual emblems in each of the lobes around the interior cavetto and a single-oriented plant in the central decorative panel, is illustrated in by R. Fujioka and G. Hasebe in Sekai toji zenshi 14 Ming, Tokyo, 1976, no. 131. This dish, like the current example, is rare in depicting a fruit tree - in that case a lycheee tree - rather than a flowering plant. The published dish comes from the collection of Chinese ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, and further examples of Longquan celadon dishes of this form with finely carved decoration from this collection are illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul I Yuan and Ming Celadon Wares, London & New York, 1986, pp. 300-1, nos. 233-9. However, only two of these dishes - those discussed as no. 237 - depict fruit trees, in this case peach trees. 

The current dish may be unique amongst these large, very fine quality, Longquan bracket-lobed dishes in having a fruiting loquat tree as its central decoration. Loquats are called pipa Iin Chinese or luju in classical literature. The modern name for the fruit derives from its resemblance in shape to the body of a musical instrument also called a pipa. Loquats are indigenous to south-eastern China, and both their fruit and leaves were used in traditional Chinese medicine. Loquats are mentioned in the works of the Tang dynasty poet, Li Bai ( AD 701-62 ), and appear in Chinese paintings at least as early as the Song dynasty. An anonymous album leaf, dated to the Southern Song dynasty, is illustrated by R.M. Barnhart in Peach Blossom Spring, New York, 1983, p. 33, no. 8. The admiration of loquat plants continued, and there is even a Loquat Pavilion in the famous Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. They have traditionally been considered auspicious fruit since they embody the spirit of all four seasons. The plants bud in autumn, blossom in winter, the fruit sets in spring and ripens in summer. The fruit are also associated with gold because, when ripe, they are golden yellow in colour. Loquats are also amongst the auspicious plants associated with Duanwu Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month. 

It is especially interesting that the loquat tree on the current dish has been depicted as growing from a coherent ground, since this ties in well with recent research into the Jingdezhen porcelains of the Hongwu period. Until the mid-1990s, when the Hongwu stratum at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen was excavated, it was understood that generally the plants painted on the interior of Hongwu dishes were either shown as 'growing' from the circular frame of the central panel (as in the case of the underglaze blue decorated dish illustrated in Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, op. cit., pp. 128-9, no. 32, or were occasionally depicted emerging from a rock at the lowest part of the frame (as in the case of the large dish with underglaze blue decoration illustrated ibid., pp. 104-5, no. 20). What became clear from the 1994 excavations was that large Hongwu bracket-lobed dishes from the Jingdezhen kilns were also sometimes decorated with naturalistically painted plants shown as 'growing' from a specifically indicated ground, as can be seen in the case of two large dishes illustrated ibid, pp. 130-333, nos. 33 and 34, and a fragment illustrated lower image p. 359 These finds confirmed the application of this type of decoration on imperial porcelains in the Hongwu reign, and it is significant that the vessels in question are large bracket-lobed dishes of similar form to the current Longquan celadon example. 

This magnificent dish is therefore rare and important on a number of counts. It appears to be the only published example decorated with a loquat tree, and is rare amongst Hongwu dishes for depicting any kind of fruit, as opposed to flowers in its main decorative area. It provides an important insight into the development from Yuan style to the style of the early 15th century. Lastly, and of special significance, this dish provides clear evidence of an aesthetic link between the finest Longquan celadons of the Hongwu reign and the underglaze-decorated porcelains made at the Imperial kilns in the same period. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong, 30th November 2011