KANGXI or YONGZHENG c.1710 – 1735. Chinese Taste Porcelain.

An Early 18th Century Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Dish in the Ming Style, Late Kangxi or Yongzheng Period. Decorated with a Dragon to the Center and the Border of Three Carp Leaping Above the Waves.

SOLD

Condition
Good, an area of the foot has cracks, partly showing through to the other side of the foot but not to the front of the dish. These are very clean and difficult to see.
Size
Diameter : 16 cm (6 1/4 inches)
Provenance
The Clive D. Collins Collection of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art.
Stock number
21051

Photos

Information

The leaping carp together with the dragon was used as to wish luck in Imperial examinations. The carp struggles, swimming up-stream, eventually reaching it's goal of passing through the Dragon Gate.

Apocryphal marks are frequently encountered on Kangxi Blue and White Porcelain, the mark of the Ming Emperor Chenghua who reigned from 1465 to 1487 being by far the most common, other Ming marks include Jiajing (1522-1566) and less frequently Wanli (1573-1620). These marks were not added to the piece to deceive, but more as a sign of reverence to earlier potters of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Occasionally they are used on pieces copying Ming Porcelain, these objects were probably made for collectors who could not afford the Ming original.