Lot 519. A red and green-enameled 'boys' square bowl, Jiajing mark and period (1522-1566). Width 5 1/8  in., 13.1 cm. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

of square section, potted with deep rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a flared rim, the exterior painted in green outlined in black with a continuous scene depicting eight boys cheerfully engaged in various pursuits in a garden landscape with verdant vegetation and rockwork, including flying a kite, sitting astride a hobby horse, all framed by narrow green-enameled borders at the rim and foot, the interior similarly decorated and centered with a square panel enclosing a pine tree twisted to form a shou character, with lingzhi growing beneath, the with a six-character mark in underglaze blue, all reserved on a deep iron-red ground.

Provenance: Japanese Private Collection (by repute). 

Note: The playful scene adorning this square bowl illustrates the artistic vitality characteristic of porcelain designs of the Jiajing period (r. 1522-1566). Painted in red and green enamels of children at play, symbolic of the Confucian ideal for the education and advancement of many sons, this decorative theme was especially prolific during this period in response to the emperor’s desire for many sons. Another meaning of this motif is suggested by Rosemary E. Scott in Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1989, p.80, where the author notes that scenes of boys at play may be linked to the Daoist theme of the old regaining their youth. As the Jiajing emperor was a devout Daoist and sought to find the elixir of immortality throughout his life, decoration influenced by Daoist iconography was prevalent at court.