A famille verte charger, Qing dynasty, Kangxi (1662-1722).
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With a broad flat, scalloped rim, painted with a ground of wickerwork in red with eight roundels formed by a flying crane. In between the roundels are half – ruyi motifs and semicircular panels with flowers, positioned opposite each other. The crane itself is an auspicious symbol, representing longevity and wisdom. The reverse of the dish shows three camellia flower sprays in green and red and the base is marked with an artemisia leaf in under glaze blue within a double circle. The center with a scene from the “Romance of the Western Chamber”. Diameter 37,5 cm.
Restored.
Provenance
The Avalon Collection.
This collection, which in the main focuses on the Interregnum and Kangxi periods has been both carefully and sensitively formed over the last twenty-five years. The collector, a member of the English Oriental Ceramic Society, has assembled the collection with an eye for provenance whilst purchasing from old European collections, well-established antique dealers and at auction.
Academically, the pieces have been well researched both in terms of their symbolism and narrative themes. In many instances the imagery on the pieces has been referenced to episodes in the romantic and historic novels of Chinese mythology, which were used extensively in the decoration of seventeenth century Chinese porcelain.
Literature
This dish belongs to a fairly large group of unusual dishes that have been given the name “Crane Medallion Dishes” by Christiaan J A Jorg. The group consists exclusively of dishes decorated in the famille verte palet – no variants in under glaze blue or Chinese Imari being known. Most of the dishes are decorated with scenes from literary sources based on woodblock prints but transformed into a circular composition to fit the centre of the dish. To date only 25 of these dishes have been traced to public and private collections in Europe – but not all have been published. Of this small group, only two of the dishes have the same decoration. A more detailed narrative of the “Crane Medallion Dishes” can be found in “Famille Verte: Chinese Porcelain in Green Enamels” by Christiaan J A Jorg, Pages 114 – 117.
More information
The scene of the central medallion is carefully composed and full of charm and melancholy – depicting the tearful farewell between the two lovers Yang Sheng and Cui Yingying. It is taken from Act III of the play “Romance of the Western Chamber”, which is commonly referred to as “Feast with Tears”. At the centre of the scene are the two young lovers and around them is the scholar’s groom, Yingying’s maid, Hong Niang and the sedan chair attendant.