A large famille verte dish, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

24 août 2019

A large famille verte dish, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

Lot 734. A large famille verte dish, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 15 5/8 in. (39.6 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. Price realised USD 112,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2019.

The dish is decorated in the center with a female immortal with an attendant and a deer pulling a cart, the exterior with iron-red shou characters, and the base is inscribed with an apocryphal Chenghua mark.

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait, New York, no. 3707 (according to label).
Mary (1904-1981) and Leigh Block (1905-1987) Collection, Chicago.
The Art Institute of Chicago, accessioned in 1988.

Mary (1904-1981) and Leigh Block (1905-1987)
Mary and Leigh B. Block were lifelong residents of Chicago and important patrons of the city's art institutions. Mary Block (née Mary Lasker Foreman) was vice president of the advertising company Foote, Cone and Belding, and Leigh B. Block was the vice president of Inland Steel, Chicago. Leigh served on the board of trustees of The Art Institute of Chicago, and was the Institute's president from 1970 to 1972. Although they mostly focused on collecting modern European painting and sculptures, they also developed a deep admiration for Pre-Columbian and Chinese works of art. They are recognized as being among the most important benefactors of The Art Institute in its nearly 100-year history, and their gift to The Art Institute includes modern painting, sculpture, prints drawings and photography.

Note: Magu, the Goddess of Longevity, is often regarded as the female equivalent of Shoulao. She is usually depicted with a deer pulling a cart of lingzhi, or carrying a basket filled with flowers and other auspicious objects such as double gourds, which contain the wine she brews from the lingzhi. First appearing in early Ming dynasty porcelain from Jingdezhen, her image became popularized during the Kangxi period.
A dish dated to Kangxi period depicting a similar scene of Magu with attendant and with a cart pulled by a deer is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 102. Another is illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Shanghai, 1996, pl. 98. See, also, the pair of Kangxi dishes of this pattern and of comparable size sold at Christie’s London, 15 May 2012, lot 406.

Christie's. Chinese Art from The Art Institute of Chicago, New York, 12 September 2019

Posté par Alain Truong à 13:37 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: Kangxi period (1662-1722), famille verte dish, Mary and Leigh Block Collection