A Pair of Finely Painted Kangxi Blue and White Dishes

A Pair of Unusual Kangxi Blue and White Porcelain Saucer Shaped Dishes c.1690-1710. These thinly potted dishes have barbed rim as well as a moulded lotus band surrounding the well. The central design in the well of these dishes is of Ladies, in a balustraded garden with a dancing boy. To the right is a Gongshi, also known as a scholar’s rock or viewing stone, these are naturally occurring rocks that have long been appreciated by scholars in gardens or as small version on a scholar’s table. Behind the rock is a banana plant and a tree. The edge of central design is painted with stylised lotus flowers, set in lotus well of the petal moulding. The border is of cartouches with ruyi-head pendants, the centers with double precious objects repeated, two lozenges and two cash emblems, all tied with ribbons. These dishes were especially popular in the Netherlands where the thin elegant ladies were referred to as Lange Lyzen or`Long Eliza` in English. The backs are painted with lotus within lotus relief moulding, above that is a row of paintings, in rectangular frames and within fans. The bases with apocryphal Chenghua (1465-1487) Ming marks (for more details see below the Photograph Gallery). The tones of blue employed, as well as the white pearly glaze, are very similar to the well known `Rotterdam Riot` plates which can be dated to c.1692-1695. Unlike the political subject of the Rotterdam Riot plates, figures in gardens as a subject matter was not ephemeral. Therefore, it is likely the figure decorated plates were made over a longer period, this is further confirmed by the large extant number known. See below for more photographs and references.