Lot 129 An extremely rare and fine Chinese blue and white 'Lotus Bouquet' dish

An extremely rare and fine Chinese blue and white 'Lotus Bouquet' dish

Yongle

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€ 80.000 – € 120.000

O: H. 5,8 cm, Diam. 31,2 cm

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Finely potted with steep rounded sides, the interior painted in rich cobalt-blue tones with a ribbon-tied bouquet of lotus flowers, buds, leaves and aquatic plants emerging from a rocky outcrop, all enclosed within triple concentric circles. The cavetto is decorated with a continuous floral scroll comprising chrysanthemum, lotus, peony and camellia borne on undulating stems, repeated on the exterior beneath a classic scroll border at the rim. The reverse with floral sprays and a key-fret border above the short tapered foot.
Blue and white chargers of this type rank among the most celebrated porcelains of the Yongle reign. The elegant lotus bouquet motif, combining lotus blossoms, leaves and water weeds tied with a ribbon, evokes the flourishing lotus ponds of summer and reflects the refined naturalism characteristic of early fifteenth-century imperial wares. The lotus (lian) was highly esteemed in Chinese culture as a symbol of purity, harmony and continuous succession, emerging unstained from muddy waters and carrying auspicious rebus meanings associated with abundance and prosperity.
Chargers decorated with this design were widely exported throughout the Islamic world during the early Ming period, as evidenced by the large number preserved in important Middle Eastern collections. Notable examples are recorded in the former Ardabil Shrine collection, including several dishes of closely related design presented to the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in 1614. Comparable examples are preserved in the collections of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, and the Palace Museum, Beijing.
此盤胎體精細，深弧壁。盤心以濃豔青花繪一束以緞帶束結的蓮花，蓮花、花苞、荷葉及水草自山石間生出，外環三道青花弦紋。內壁通景繪纏枝花卉，菊花、蓮花、牡丹及山茶沿起伏枝蔓次第展開，外壁亦飾同類紋樣，口沿下環繪一道卷草紋。盤背另飾折枝花卉，矮而漸收的圈足上方環繪回紋。
此類青花大盤是永樂時期最具代表性的瓷器品種之一。盤心所繪「一把蓮」將蓮花、荷葉及水草束作一束，令人聯想到盛夏荷塘繁茂清雅的景致，展現了十五世紀初御窯瓷器細膩自然的藝術風格。蓮花出淤泥而不染，在中國傳統文化中象徵純潔、和諧與生生不息；「蓮」又可諧音「連」，寄託連年有餘、富足昌盛等吉祥寓意。
明初，此類大盤曾大量輸往伊斯蘭世界，眾多中東重要收藏中至今仍保存相關實例。原阿德比爾聖陵收藏即著錄有數件紋飾相近的青花盤，於1614年供奉予薩菲丁·伊沙克聖陵。臺北故宮博物院、伊斯坦堡托普卡帕宮博物館及北京故宮博物院亦收藏有相近作品。
Provenance:
A European private collection.
Marchant, London, with their label to the reverse.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2009 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scan)
Exhibited and published:
Marchant, London, included in their 2009 exhibition of 'Ming Porcelain' and published in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 12-13, no. 4. Also illustrated in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', p. 188, no. 1362.