A blue and white dish, Ming dynasty, Wanli (1572-1620).
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Painted in vivid tones of underglaze blue with a qilin supporting on its back an elaborate canopied lantern, flanked by two male attendants, framed within a double-line border, the rim with a band of scrolling lotus and foliage, the underside with four precious objects divided by lanterns, the base with a four-character Da Ming nian zhi mark within a double circle. Diameter 16.5 cm.
Rimcrack, repair to rim.
Provenance
From the Collection of Art Director Ivar Björnberg (1934-2021). Growing up at Östermalm, Stockholm Ivar visited gallery viewings, auction viewings and antique shops with his parents and alone. It was during his visits to the antique dealers of Stockholm he became friends with the dealer Victoria Lindström, Grev Turegatan 28, Stockholm (she later moved her gallery to Riddargatan). He started to work extra at the gallery and had her as a mentor when starting his own collection. The collection is a academic one and it shows Mr Björnbergs taste and great passion for the aesthetics of Chinese Works of Art.
Literature
Compare a slightly larger dish of this type sold at Sothebys London rooms, 6th June 1967, lot 144. Another, with a Wanli reign mark, sold in the same rooms, 12th November 2003, lot 155.
Also compare Sothebys, lot no 62, Important Chinese Art, 13 September 2017 • New York.
This design is also found in wucai, see one example illustrated in Bo Gyllensvard, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 850, and a pair sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th November 2016, lot 3399.