with shallow rounded sides divided into twelve bracket foliations, rising from a short circular tapered foot to a barbed everted rim, exquisitely painted in shades of cobalt blue with 'heaping and piling', the interior with a central peony bloom wreathed by meandering scrolls of camellia, rose, lotus and hibiscus blossoms, the cavetto with detached sprays of peony, chrysanthemum, pomegranate, hibiscus, morning glory and lotus, each repeated twice and paired across the dish, all within a border of scrolling ruyi heads between double lines at the rim, the exterior with similar detached floral sprays within double-line borders, wood stand.
Note: The present charger is a fine example of the technical developments achieved by potters during the early Ming dynasty. One of the most striking decorative innovations of early 15th century wares was the use of separate floral sprays in the cavettos instead of the continuous scroll. The heavy wreath of lotus or peony found on 14th century dishes gave way to a series of delicate and more varied motifs. Two sets of six flower sprays were commonly repeated so that each pair of flowers sat diagonally opposite each other.
Although examples of this exact design have not been recorded from the excavations of the Ming imperial kiln site, similar large dishes of this form, painted with related designs, have come to light in the Yongle stratum of the site; see, for example, the dish included in the exhibition Yongle Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, Capital Museum, Beijing, 2007, cat. no. 68.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee II, Hong Kong, 08 Oct 2019