An exceptionally rare and large doucai 'phoenix and lotus' dish


Qianlong seal mark and of the periodThe large dish potted with wide flaring sides, meticulously painted on the interior in brilliant enamels with a central medallion formed by a pair of confronted phoenix with their wings outstretched and tails fanned open, enclosed within a foliate scroll bearing four stylised blossoming lotus heads enamelled in aubergine, green, yellow and iron-red, the cavetto decorated with the Eight Buddhist Emblems bajixiang, tied with fluttering ribbons amidst colourful wispy clouds, the everted rim with eight further symbols on a rolling wave-ground, the reverse with an elaborate lotus meander. 50.4cm (19 7/8in) diam.
|清乾隆 闘彩夔鳳八寶紋大盤青花「大清乾隆年製」篆書款Provenance:A distinguished Middle-Eastern private collection來源：中東顯赫私人收藏The massive doucai charger was made of scale meant to impress and display the technical virtuosity and abilities of the Imperial kilns in successfully firing a porcelain vessel of such impressive size. In form and design the present dish follows directly from the Yongzheng period. Compare with a very similar doucai dish, Yongzheng mark and period, from the Qing Court Collection, similarly decorated but of smaller size (45.5cm diam.), illustrated in The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 2007, no.231.Only a small number of similar doucai dishes of such scale, Qianlong seal mark and period, would appear to be recorded: the first, in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pp.300-301; a second example was included in the exhibition Imperial Life in the Qing Dynasty: Treasures from the Shenyang Palace Museum, China, Singapore, 1989, illustrated on the frontispiece of the catalogue; a third example was sold at Christie's London, 8 December 1986, lot 436; and a fourth example, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 13 November 1990, lot 346 and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2001, lot 599, and is illustrated in Sotheby's Hong Kong: Twenty Years, Hong Kong, 1993, no.240.圓唇，斜躺腹，壁微隆，泥鰍背圈足，底敞闊，口沿內側繪釉下彩青花水波紋一周，間以闘彩吉祥紋飾，內壁飾青花闘彩八寶穿雲紋，有寶瓶、寶蓋、雙魚、蓮花、右旋螺、吉祥結、尊勝幢、法輪，盤心繪闘彩雙鳳，周圍一圈番蓮紋，外壁繪闘彩纏枝番蓮紋，花瓣及枝葉局部繪金彩，底部繪青花「大清乾隆年製」六字篆書款。此盤體量巨大，繪製精彩，燒製殊為不易，為乾隆御窯一時佳作。《雍正、乾隆官窯督陶大事記》記載，乾隆三年（1738）曾燒造此類盤，時稱「五彩洋花八寶大盤」。此盤形制及裝飾傳承自雍正時期的御窯作品，可比較一件雍正闘彩雙鳳紋盤，非常相似，惟尺寸略小之（口徑45.5公分），見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系》，香港，2007年，編號231。乾隆朝之近例可參考一件南京博物院藏闘彩雙鳳八吉祥紋盤，見《宮廷珍藏中國清代官窯瓷器》，上海，2003年，頁300-301；另可參考沈陽故宮藏一件，見「 Imperial Life in the Qing Dynasty: Treasures from the Shenyang Palace Museum, China」展覽圖錄內封，新加坡，1989年；佳士得倫敦曾售出一件相似例子，1986年12月8日，拍品編號436；香港蘇富比2001年4月29日亦曾售出一件近例，拍品編號599，著錄於《蘇富比香港二十年》，香港，1993年，編號240。