The interior relief-decorated in the center with two fish below the deep rounded sides that rise to a flat everted rim pierced either side with pairs of holes, the exterior carved with a band of chrysanthemum petals, all under an opaque glaze of pale blue-green-greyish tone suffused with black ('iron-wire') crackle joined by finer gold crackle ('golden thread') which falls to the edge of the foot to expose the ware burnt brick red in the firing and which also covers the inside of the foot and base, box.
Provenance: Samuel T. Peters Collection.
C. T. Loo, New York.
Stephen Junkunc III.
Exhibited: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric through Ch'ien Lung, 14 March - 27 April 1952, p. 71, no. 121.
Note: This dish is quite similar to one in the Honolulu Academy of Arts, included in the exhibition, Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period through Ch'ien Lung, Los Angeles County Museum, 1952, p. 80, no. 171. The shape and size of the fish on the interior and their close proximity to each other is very similar, as is the type of dark crackle in the glaze. The glaze on that dish, however, is described as green celadon, while that on the present dish is opaque and of greenish-grey color. The Honolulu dish is also lacking the pairs of holes in the rim. A Longquan celadon twin-fish dish in the Percival David Foundation and previously in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Clark, not only has the two pairs of holes in the rim, but they are fitted with the original copper handles and floret mounts. There is a copper mount on the rim as well. This is thought to be the only dish of this type still retaining the original handles. See M. Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares, London, 1977, pl. VI, no. 54. Another similar dish also in the collection is illustrated pl. VI, no. 55, but like the present dish it is missing its handles. Another Longquan celadon dish of this type also missing its handles is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji; gonyi meishu bian; taoci 3, Shanghai, 1988, p. 40, no. 41.
Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 22 March 2007