Chinese Blue and White Square Bowl with Silver Mount, Kangxi (1662-1722)

Ref: W672

Archive item - not for sale

Chinese blue and white square bowl with silver mount, Kangxi (1662-1722), with canted ogee-shaped rim corners, each of the four sides decorated with a panel containing either a dragon chasing the flaming pearl amongst crashing waves or a large carp emerging from the water underneath a cloudy sky with full moon; framed by stylised fruits and flower heads against a white ground; the interior with a band of cracked ice and prunus blossom to the rim and a central chamfered panel to the well also containing a carp emerging from the waves under a night sky, the base with an archaic-form vessel mark within a double circle.

Dimensions:

Diameter: 18.8cm. (7 3/8 in.) height: 10.5cm. 4 (1/8in.)

Condition:

Break to rim neatly restored

Notes:

The motif of leaping fish and dragon symbolises perseverance, courage and accomplishment. According to Chinese mythology, a carp that perseveres and successfully swims against the river to leap over the Dragon’s Gate at the top of Longmen is transformed into a mighty dragon. The myth gave rise to the traditional Chinese saying ‘Liyu Tiao Long Men’ 鲤鱼跳龙门 (lit: ‘the carp has leaped through the Dragon Gate’), used when proudly referring to a student who has worked hard and passed a difficult exam, though the odds were against them.