ZHENGDE SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1506-1521)

Dishes of this design were first produced during the Xuande period and reached the peak of their popularity in the Hongzhi period. A Xuande prototype is illustrated in Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, p. 89, no. 88.

Several examples with Zhengde marks are in some of the world’s greatest collections, including the collection of the Percival David Foundation, illustrated by M. Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares, London, 1978, pl. III, no. 29 and in the Smithsonian Institution, illustrated in Ming Porcelains in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953, p. 35, nos. 31 and 32.

The choice of fruit and botanical motifs on these dishes was not random. The flowers of the boldly painted gardenia decorating the center of the interior were admired for their beauty and fragrance while the fruit of the plant provided a fine yellow dye.