Fine Asian Art

A RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'MYTHICAL BEAST' PORCELAIN SAUCER, China, Transitional period, 17th century

d cm 15,8

The lobed dish, with a scalloped rim in eight petals, is fully decorated with wave, spiral, and floral motifs on both the front and back. At the center of the composition, two mythological aquatic creatures swim among vortices. The base bears the apocryphal six-character mark of Emperor Jiajing.

Provenance: private collection, Liguria.

Catalog notes:

An identical example is housed in the Musée Guimet, Paris, accession number MA5926.

The decorative motif, originally from the Yongle-Xuande period, was repeatedly revived in later dynasties with variations in subject matter. A comparison can be made with a pair of Kangxi period dishes sold at Sotheby’s in the auction Important Chinese Art, 19 September 2023, New York, lot no. 684. A further comparison featuring the same decoration but dated to the late Qing dynasty (1900-1912) / Republic period (1912–1949) can be made with the dish from the Percival David Foundation at the British Museum, London, accession number PDF,B.641, illustrated in Medley 1976, Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains, p. 62, no. B641, pl. XIII.

青花海水纹盘，中国，转换期十七世纪