The bowl has deeply rounded sides rising to a flared rim. The exterior is painted with an arrangement of antiquities, including archaic bronzes, vases, arms, books, scrolls and incense implements. There are a number of animals within the decoration, which include – caged birds and a mythical animal. The interior is painted at the rim with books, scrolls, a musical instrument and a dagger. Diameter 34 cm.
Restored. Polished rim.
Purchased from Bukowski Auctions, Stockholm, June 2010.
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.