Ref: U885
£ 1,200
Price is subject to availability and market conditions.
Chinese blue and white kraak lobed dish, Wanli (1573-1619), decorated in the centre with a floral roundel in reserve containing a basket with chrysanthemum and foliage, against alternating cell and diaper grounds, the moulded cavetto and rim with ten peach-shaped cartouches containing stylised sprays of fruit and flowers alternating with precious beribboned objects including an artemisia leaf and scrolls, interspersed with curling scrollwork, the reverse with ten further panels containing simplified babao and dot motifs.
Notes:
In China, peaches are a symbol of longevity, a preoccupation of the tradition of Daoism to which the fruits are a key motif. Peaches are frequently depicted in reference to the Daoist Immortals, who famously attended the Feast of Peaches (蟠桃會) held by the Jade Emperor, ruler of all of the Heavens and his wife, the Queen Mother of the West. This legendary banquet features prominently in Ming novels including Journey to the West (attributed to Wu Cheng’en c.1500-c.1580). It is supposedly held at the Jade Pool of the Emperor’s Golden-Gate Cloud Palace to celebrate the ripening of the peaches from the Queen Mother’s Garden. These peaches of immortality (pantao蟠桃) only ripen every few thousand years, and are shared amongst the immortals to sustain them until the next banquet.
