XUANDE SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)

The present bowl is decorated within a double-line border with a continuous scene depicting a female immortal seated on the back of a phoenix amidst billowing clouds flying towards another female figure seated within a pavilion shaded by a willow tree, all above a band of classic scroll encircling the foot. This subject matter is commonly referred to as the ‘immortal’ bowl, yet the story draws inspiration from a beloved folkloric tale, symbolising the wish for a joyous marriage, and the continuous decorations create a dynamic visual effect that resembles a unfolding painting scroll as the bowl is turned.

An almost identical bowl in shape, composition and size (19.5 cm.), bearing the same mark, is in the National Palace Museum Collection, collection no. guci 003130N000000000 (Fig. 1). Another Xuande-marked bowl of similar size (19.6 cm.), decorated with a female immortal, possibly Xiwangmu, riding a crane towards a vacant pavilion, is in the same collection, illustrated in the Special Exhibition of Hsuan-te Period Porcelain, Taipei, 1983, pl. 32.

Compare also to an almost identical Xuande-marked bowl, formerly in the E.T. Chow and Falk Collections, sold at Christie’s New York, 16 October 2001, lot 134. Another similar Xuande-marked comparable that is decorated with four ladies in a garden scene, formerly in the Tianminlou Collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2023, lot 2704.