Chinese massive famille verte bowl, Kangxi (1662-1722)

POA

Description

Chinese massive famille verte bowl, Kangxi (1662-1722), with slightly flared rim, the exterior decorated with two bands of ogee-shaped panels containing alternating scenes of flowers and various mythical beasts in gardens with overhanging rockwork, pine and swirling clouds; the eight panels of the top band containing cherry blossom, a mythical beast with spots and tasselled tail, chrysanthemum blooms with flying insects, a dog of Fo with beribboned ball, peonies with butterfly, a mythical beast chasing a black bird, lotus with grasses and a tiger; the eight panels of the lower band containing a mythical beast with paws, beard and tasselled tail, irises with flying insects, a shaggy dog, curly flowers with butterfly, a cantering beast with wings and hooves, peonies, a pair of deer and daisy or aster with butterflies; the footrim with a ruyi-head band in iron-red, yellow and green, the rim with six cartouches containing flowers and flying insects against a floral cellular ground; the interior rim with six vignettes containing dianthus, rose, peonies, asters, anemone and curly flowers against various swirling and cell floral grounds, the interior well with a central roundel containing a pair of cantering qilin in a rocky garden amongst plantain, flowers and swirling clouds; the base with a square mark within a double circle.

Diameter: 33.5cm. (13 1/4in.), height: 16.5cm. (6 1/2in.)

Condition: A very small faint hairline (approx. 2.5cm. long) to the rim and a few tiny stress lines on the rim but no chips; some rubbing to the interior decoration (see images).

Notes:
A bowl of very similar design can be found in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Salting Bequest C.1240-1910).

Fantastical beasts play a large role in Chinese mythology as iconic symbols, both religious and secular. For example, the qilin is a fire-breathing animal with hooves, the head of a dragon and the tail of a Buddhist lion connected with Confucian legend as the bringer of healthy sons. Meanwhile, the dog is one of the animals of the zodiac and symbolises future prosperity.

ENQUIRE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT

Product REF: W670