Lot 162 A Chinese blue and white 'Shou' plate

A Chinese blue and white 'Shou' plate

Jiajing mark and of the period

未知

€ 15.000 – € 25.000

O: Diam. 12,5 cm

未知

Delicately potted with shallow, rounded sides and a slightly everted rim, the interior finely painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a central shou (longevity) character enclosed within a circular medallion, surrounded by four stylised lingzhi sprays linked by scrolling stems. The reverse decorated with a five-clawed dragon pursuing a crane amidst flames, accompanied by two phoenix birds in flight. The base bears a six-character Jiajing reign mark in underglaze cobalt blue.
The combination of the shou character and lingzhi fungus forms a powerful rebus associated with longevity, immortality and auspicious blessings. Such motifs were particularly favoured during the Jiajing reign, when Daoist symbolism became deeply embedded in imperial court art. The emperor’s well-documented interest in Daoist practices and the quest for immortality resulted in the production of numerous porcelains decorated with longevity emblems, cranes, phoenixes and dragons, all of which are represented on the present dish.
此盤胎體輕薄，淺弧腹，口沿微撇。盤心青花圓形開光內書一「壽」字，四周環繪四組纏枝靈芝。盤背繪一條五爪龍穿行於火焰之間，追逐前方仙鶴，另有雙鳳展翅飛翔。底部青花書「大明嘉靖年製」六字款。
「壽」字與靈芝相配，是寓意長壽、成仙與納福迎祥的經典組合。此類紋樣在嘉靖年間尤受推崇，當時道教思想深刻影響宮廷藝術。嘉靖皇帝崇奉道教，醉心求仙長生，促使御窯大量燒造飾有壽字、靈芝、仙鶴、鳳凰及龍紋的瓷器，此盤匯集上述多種吉祥元素，集中體現了嘉靖宮廷的審美與信仰。
Reference:
A similar example, from the collection of Mr J.F. Woodthorpe, was included by The Oriental Ceramic Society and the Arts Council of Great Britain in 'The Arts of the Ming Dynasty', London 1958, no. 141.
Provenance:
The C.J.B. Metcalfe Collection.
The George and Noah Warre Collection, with their label to the reverse.
Bluett & Sons, London, with their label to the reverse.
The Drs. A.M. Sengers Collection, collection no. 173. Acquired from the above in June 1984.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the reverse.
The Baert - Devos Collection, Belgium, acquired from the above on 9 December 2009 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scan)
Exhibited & published:
The Oriental Ceramic Society, included in their 1953-1954 exhibition of 'Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, 14th-19th Centuries', and published in the accompanying catalogue, no. 155, with their label to the reverse.
Exhibited at the Art Antique Fair, October 1990 at the 'Loan Exhibition of Eighty Years of Chinese Ceramic History in a Dutch Private Collection', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, no. 11 pl. XLIII.
S. Marchant & Son, London, inluded in their November 2004 exhibition of 'Ming Blue and White Porcelain, The Drs A.M. Sengers Collection', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 2-3, no. 1.
Marchant, London, included in their 2009 exhibition of 'Ming Porcelain', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 46-47, no. 19. Also illustrated in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', Vol. II, p. 24, fig. 1018.