Dish

ca. 1680 - 88

This unusual dish bears intricate decorations. Before firing, a detailed design of two dragons chasing a flaming pearl was incised into air-hardened clay on both the interior and exterior. After pre-firing, famille verte enamels were then applied on the biscuit body to paint tangerines and pomegranates—auspicious symbols of wishes for many offspring. The enamels may seem to obscure the pattern beneath, but the white space between the fruits gives the textured edges of the dragon scales an iridescent gleam.

Porcelain with incised, enameled decoration

1 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (4.45 x 24.8 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

56.166

Provenance: Purchased from David Benzaria, New York, 1956

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Porcelain Stories: From China to Europe, Feb. 17 - May 7, 2000.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Glaze, Pattern and Image: Decoration in Chinese Ceramics, Sept. 7 - Nov. 19, 2002.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published ReferencesEmerson, Julie, Jennifer Chen, & Mimi Gardner Gates, "Porcelain Stories, From China to Europe", Seattle Art Museum, 2000, pg. 128

SAM Engagement Book 1968, December - January.

Foong, Ping, Xiaojin Wu, and Darielle Mason. "An Asian Art Museum Transformed." Orientations vol. 51, no. 3 (May/June 2020): p. 61, reproduced fig. 22 (installation view).

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