Dish

Object Details

• Description

  Blue-and-white.

  Clay: fine white porcelain.

  Glaze: plain, transparent.

  Decoration: in underglaze cobalt blue with "the three friends" in center inside, garden scene with figures outside.

  Six-character Ch'eng-hua mark in blue on base.

  One of a pair with F1951.10-51.11. (The dishes can be called a pair in the sense that they came into the collection together, but this does not imply they were made or fired as a pair).

• Marks

  Six-character Ch'eng-hua mark in blue on base

• Label

  To some connoisseurs, the Chenghua reign (1465-87) marks the ultimate stage in the development of Chinese blue-and-white, in which technical perfection is matched by great refinement in taste. The best Chenghua examples are remarkable for their delicacy, luminosity, and sensitive drawing. A six-character mark confirms the Chenghua date on this dish.

  The interior is painted with a motif known as the "three friends of winter" (pine, plum, and bamboo) and also a garden rock and fungus of immortality appear. The design is both a wish for longevity and also carries poetic and scholarly connotations. The exterior is decorated with women in a garden setting with two constellations pictured overhead. These are the Herdboy (Aquila) and Weaving Maiden (Vega) stars that cross the Milky Way and meet on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Double Seventh Festival in China. In antiquity, this was a major celebration for lovers. Women made special displays of brocade, prepared vegetarian feasts, and burned incense while they prayed for divine instructions, especially for improvement of needlework.

  This dish can be compared to another in the collection, F1951.11.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Plum Blossoms, Chrysanthemums, and Bamboo (July 30 to December 4, 2011)

  Beyond Brushwork: Symbolism in Chinese Painting (April 29 to November 26, 2006)

  Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1993 to April 17, 1995)

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

  Chinese and Korean Ceramics (July 11, 1986 to March 13, 1987)

  Chinese Ceramics (March 15, 1982 to July 10, 1986)

  Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

  Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics (March 7, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, 1955 (September 19, 1955 to November 10, 1955)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 13 (November 10, 1955 to March 1, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1953 (May 26, 1953 to September 15, 1953)

  Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)

• Origin

  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Place

  China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen

• Topic

  Porcelain, Art, Chinese Art, Ceramics, Jingdezhen ware, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Chenghua reign (1465 - 1487)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)