Lot 161 嬰戲圖 | A Chinese blue and white 'Boys at Play 嬰戲圖' plate

嬰戲圖 | A Chinese blue and white 'Boys at Play 嬰戲圖' plate

Jiajing mark and of the period

未知

€ 25.000 – € 50.000

O: Diam. 19,4 cm

未知

A Chinese Imperial plate, finely painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a central medallion depicting four boys in a fenced garden, three seated on the ground around a group of archaic vessels while the fourth stands, holding a cup. The scene is set amidst rockwork, flowering plants, a plantain tree and stylised clouds beneath a mountainous landscape, all enclosed within a double-line medallion repeated at the rim. The exterior is decorated with four pairs of boys at play (yingxi tu) in a continuous landscape with pine trees, rockwork, plantain and lingzhi fungus, one flying a butterfly kite, one spinning tops and another holding a windmill, between double-line borders. The yingxi tu motif was a popular decorative theme during the Ming dynasty, symbolising the wish for many sons - particularly accomplished sons who would achieve distinction through success in the imperial civil service examinations. The base inscribed with a six-character Jiajing mark in underglaze cobalt blue and of the period.
此件御製青花盤，盤心雙圈內繪庭院嬰戲圖，四名童子嬉戲於圍欄庭院之中，其中三人席地圍坐於一組仿古器皿旁，另一人站立，手持杯盞。四周山石、花木、芭蕉與流雲掩映，遠處峰巒起伏；口沿亦以青花雙圈收邊。
盤背通景繪四組童子嬉戲，兩兩成組，活動於松樹、山石、芭蕉及靈芝之間。童子或放蝴蝶形風箏，或抽陀螺，另有一人手持風車，畫面活潑生動，上下以青花雙弦紋為界。
嬰戲圖是明代頗為流行的裝飾題材，寄託多子多福之願，尤其寓意子孫成才，通過科舉考取功名、光耀門楣。底部青花書「大明嘉靖年製」六字款。
Reference:
An identical example is in The Metropolitan Museum, New York, object no. 17.118.10. (link) For other similar examples, see: 'Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum', vol. 35, p. 137, no. 126,; and Bo Gyllensvärd and Jan Wirgin, 'Ming Blue-and-White: From Swedish Collections', p. 71, no. 43.
Provenance:
An American private collection.
Marchant, London, with their label to the reverse.
The Mr. and Mrs. 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 & Illustrated:
The Denver Museum of Art, USA, exhibited on loan from 2000 until 2005.
Marchant, London, included in their 2009 exhibition of 'Ming Porcelain', and illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, p. 34-35, no. 14.