A fine pair of underglaze-blue and copper-red ‘Buddhist lion and brocade ball’ dishes, Seal marks and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆　青花釉裏紅獅子戲球盤一對　《大清乾隆年製》款

拍品描述

Property from an old Hong Kong family collection 香港家族舊藏 each 20.2 cm The subject of Buddhist lions playing with beribboned balls dates back to blue and white porcelain of the early Ming dynasty, as portrayed on a jar attributed to the Yongle period (1403-24), illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 4, London, 2010, pl. 1643, and sold twice in these rooms, 1st November 1999, lot 312, and again, 7th April 2011, lot 51. The vibrant design presents many auspicious associations symbolising physical and spiritual power and conveys the wishes for high rank. While the lion motif is rarely found on dishes as in the present lot, similar motifs are found on vases of the Qianlong period, see a Qianlong blue and white vase of this type in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 181. Compare also an example from the Jingguantang collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 2nd November 1999, lot 601; as well as a smaller vase sold in these rooms, 27th November 1977, lot 194, and later published in Chinese Porcelain: The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 113.

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