Antique Chinese Porcelain ca 1621-1627 Porcelain Plate Ducks Flowers and Lotus

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Condition Report: / / Overall Condition Rimfritting and baking flaw. Size: 214x37mm DxH

An Inscribed Ming Blue and White Porcelain Dish, Transitional Period, Tianqi 1621-1627.

The Central Scene Shows Three Geese in The Foreground with a Fourth Goose Flying Above them, Next to it is a Four Character Inscription Which can be Translated as “May Your Name be Inscribed on the Wall of the Wild Goose Pagoda in Chang`An”. The Promontory in the Distance Shows a Pagoda Near Another Building. The Scene Below, Which is Upside Down, has Another Four Line Verse that Give the Impression of a Reflection of the Pagoda Above. This Can Loosely be Translated as “May You Enjoy the Imperial Spring Banquet in the Apricot Grove“. The Flowering Plant Next to this Inscription is Apricot with Three Swallows Flying Above. The Indented Cavetto is Painted with a Scrolling Lotus Against a Blue Ground. The Outer Border is of Greek Key Against a Pale Blue Ground.

The first inscription “May Your Name be Inscribed on the Wall of the Wild Goose Pagoda in Chang`An” relates to a custom started in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Successful candidates for the highest level of the Jinshi civil service examination had their names inscribed on the wall of the Wild Goose Pagoda in the old Tang capital Chang`an. The second inscription “May You Enjoy the Imperial Spring Banquet in the Apricot Grove” refers to the banquet held near the Wild Goose Pagoda. This inscription is reinforced through a rebus involving spring swallows and apricot blossom. This information comes from the book mentioned below by the late Sir Michael Butler, a man who has totally changed the way we see porcelain from the Transitional period.

Duck

Emblem of joy. A pair of mandarin ducks is the symbol of martial fidelity often depicted together with lotus, as a rule in a pond scene.

Lotus

Lotus – Lian-Hua, He – Thanks to the Buddhist influence, the lotus (or sea-rose) is of unique importance in Chinese folklore and symbolism. It is the symbol of purity and one of the eight Buddhist precious things. The lotus comes out of the mire but is not itself soiled. It is inwardly empty yet outwardly upright. It has no branches (no family/offsprings) but yet smells sweet. The words for lotus in Chinese have the same meanings as: to bind, connect (in marriage), one after the other, uninterrupted, to love, and modesty.
One of the Eight Budhist Symbols.

Source: Nilson, J. Gotheborg: Antique Chinese and Japanese Porcelain Collectors’ Help and Info Page. Retrieved from the Gotheborg website.

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