Lot 110. An exceptionally rare and large blue and white reserve-decorated 'peony' dish, Xuande six-character mark in a line and of the period (1426-1435); 38.7cm (15 1/4in) diam. (2). Sold for £529,500 (Estimate  £700,000-1,000,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

Elegantly potted, the shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a delicately everted rim, decorated in the centre with a flowering peony spray enclosed within a single white line, surrounded on the cavetto by six fruiting sprays of pomegranate, loquat, cherry, persimmon, peach and lychee, the underside with scrolling chrysanthemum, the foot with further two bands, all reserved in white with finely incised details on a rich 'royal blue' ground under a translucent glaze, the six-character mark inscribed in underglaze blue reserved in a rectangular cartouche below the rim, the unglazed base burnt orange, fitted box. 

Provenance: Baron Guy Etienne de Villelume (1908-1991), Château de La Gorgue, France
J.-P. Chapelle, P. Perrin, D. Fromantin, Versailles, 12 February 1978, lot 76
A French private collection.

Note: Baron Guy de Villelume had an interest in watercolours and exhibited in the Salon des Artistes Français in 1933. On his death, the Château de La Gorgue was taken over by the town hall, which set up a cultural centre and the Villelume leisure centre there.

The present dish is extremely rare, with only three other published dishes of this type bearing the mark of Xuande and of the period. One dish is the pair to the present lot, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2017, lot 6, and was formerly acquired directly from Baron Guy de Villelume on 16 September 1988. A second dish is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and is illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2015, pl.89. The third dish, formerly in the Ataka collection, is in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, illustrated in Art of the World, vol.14, Tokyo, 1976, pl.30.

An exceptionally rare and large fine blue and white reserve-decorated 'peony' dish, Xuande mark and period (1426–1435, formerly acquired directly from Baron Guy de Villelume). Sold for 2,172,500 USD at Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2017, lot 6. Photo: Sotheby's 2017.

Cf. my post: An exceptionally rare and large fine blue and white reserve-decorated 'peony' dish, Xuande mark and period (1426–1435)

This magnificent, large and rare dish exhibits the ambition and technical dexterity achieved at the Imperial kilns of the Xuande period (1426-1435), as well as changing shifts between the Yongle (1403-1424) and Xuande periods. In the Yongle period, many of the finest items made at Jingdezhen were sent abroad, whereas in the Xuande period, with the generalised use of the Imperial reign mark, production at the Imperial kilns appears to have been destined almost exclusively for the Court. The present dish was thus made to satisfy increasing demands from the Imperial Court. To catch up with the unprecedented demand, the artisans at Jingdezhen had to develop hundreds of new designs suitable for the Imperial House without becoming repetitive and maintaining a certain level of originality. This led to greater experimentation and innovation. The present dish thus also encapsulates the innovative spirit of ceramic production in the Xuande period.

Firstly, the resist technique as used on the present lot, was difficult to achieve successfully. Experiments with reserve decoration on blue and white wares exist from the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), but they did not achieve such a pleasing crisp contrast between the blue and white areas, as the Xuande specimens so finely display. There are two theories as to how the reserve decoration was achieved on the present dish: one is that the dish was first covered with a solid blue ground, which was then scraped away once it dried to reveal the design. A transparent glaze was then applied before firing took place; see Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, p.257. A second theory is that the design was first incised, then covered with white or transparent glaze, the blue glaze was then applied around the design. The six-character mark is inscribed in underglaze blue in a reserved horizontal cartouche beneath the rim, as dishes of such large size always had an unglazed base as it needed support during firing. The overall effect was much more refined than the Yuan dynasty examples, with the surface being more smooth and even, and without any gaps between the blue and white.

Secondly, the extensive use of cobalt-blue, made dishes such as the present lot extremely expensive, and limited to small scale production. Cobalt-blue was still imported from Central Asia. As a result, mass production of either monochrome blue wares or white-on-blue wares, such as the present lot, was limited. For example, the Palace Museum in Beijing has over 1570 Xuande period pieces of porcelain in its collection, but only seven are monochrome blue wares and seven are white-on-blue. The expense of using cobalt, as well as the technical difficulties involved in producing wares with reserved decoration, made a large-scale production of these wares largely impractical, even for the Imperial kilns. Apart from occasional trials, this style of decoration was largely abandoned after the Xuande reign, to be properly revived again only in the Yongzheng period (1723-1735).

Only a few related blue and white reserve-decorated dishes, Xuande mark and period, are known. See one related blue dish with flowers and fruits reserved in white, Xuande six-character mark and of the period, from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, image no.K1B010031N000000000PAE. See also three related dishes, Xuande six-character marks and of the period, which were excavated from the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, the first decorated with iron-brown on white, the second in cobalt blue on a yellow ground, the third with cobalt-blue on a white ground, illustrated in Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, nos. 85-1 to 85-3. Finally, see a related combination of peony and pomegranate on a blue and yellow dish, Xuande mark and period, illustrated by R.Krahl and J.Harrison-Hall, Chinese Ceramics: Highlights of the Sir Percival David Collection, London, 2009, pl.35.

The decoration itself on the present dish is replete with auspicious symbolism. The centre of the dish is decorated with a large peony. The peony (mudan 牡丹), is often known as the 'flower of wealth and honour' (fugui hua 富貴花), and the 'king of flowers'. Its association with royalty was established since it was grown in the Sui and Tang emperors' gardens. Scholars and poets too adored the peony, and the famous scholar Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072) wrote his 'Record of the Peonies of Luoyang' (洛陽牡丹記) immortalising them in the literary canon. The peony was thus a symbol of wealth, prosperity, and royalty.

The peony is surrounded by pomegranate, lychee, peach, persimmon, cherry and loquat. Along with the peony, the lychee would also have had associations with royalty and the Tang dynasty. Lychees were the favourite fruit of the Imperial consort Yang Guifei (719-756), and the emperor had the fruit, which was only grown in the sub-tropical south, delivered by the Imperial courier's fast horses, whose riders would take shifts day and night to the capital. Its red colour was also a symbol of happiness and good fortune. Because of the multitude of seeds, the pomegranate symbolised numerous children. The peach symbolised long-life and Immortality as they were associated with the Queen Mother of the West, whose peaches would grant Immortality. The loquat because of its golden colour represents wealth, and gold, cherry and cherry blossom has deep symbolic meaning strength and beauty, heralding Spring and renewal. Finally, the persimmon is also a symbol of good luck as persimmon (shi 柿) is a homophone for shi (事) relating to business affairs and matter.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 3 November 2022, London, New Bond Street