A rare pair of large yellow-glazed 'crane' dishes, Incised Jiajing six-character marks and of the period

Lot 31. A rare pair of large yellow-glazed 'crane' dishes, Incised Jiajing six-character marks and of the period (1522-1566). Each 34cm (13 3/8in) diam. Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 (€120,000 - 180,000). Sold for £ 86,500 (€ 97,089). © Bonhams.

Each dish finely incised with nine cranes, three cranes in the centre encircled by five further flying cranes and one standing, all amidst freely scrolling clouds, the exterior similarly incised with nine cranes amidst cloud scrolls, all covered with a deep, soft-toned yellow glaze, wood stands. 

Provenance: a Scottish private collection and thence by descent

Note: The present lot is extremely rare, and very few pieces of comparable size and style appear to have been published. The incised Jiajing marks are unusual and, when they do appear, are more commonly found on smaller yellow-glazed cups rather than the present large dishes: see for example a cup with an incised Jiajing mark and of the period, formerly in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, no.505a, and the Meiyintang Collection, where it is illustrated by R.Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Vol.II, London, 1994, no.700, and subsequently sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2011, lot 63.

A yellow-glazed dish of 36.1cm diam. and with an incised Jiajing mark and of the period, formerly in the Elphinstone Collection and now in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Qing Monochrome Wares, London, 1989, no.B502, where the dish is described as having 'rounded sides and straight rim, with an incised dragon in the centre, covered, except for the foot-ring with a brownish-yellow glaze applied directly to the biscuit. On the base is an incised mark of Jiajing in a double ring'. A yellow-glazed dish from the Qing Court Collection also with an incised Jiajing mark and an incised dragon decoration, 36cm diam., is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Monochrome Porcelain, Shanghai, 1999, no.45.

The decoration with cranes is highly auspicious, with cranes representing immortality since the ancient Chinese believed the crane could live for a thousand years. Cranes were a particularly popular motif during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, who was known as a fanatical Daoist in desperate search for immortality. His fascination with elixirs and Daoist ceremonies led to the depletion of the Imperial treasury and perhaps even the decline of the political fortunes of the Ming dynasty. Cranes often appear on blue and white porcelain from the Jiajing period, but are very rare on monochrome pieces. However a monochrome dish with very similar treatment of the incised cranes and cloud scrolls, but green-glazed and only 27.6cm diam., is illustrated in Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Hong Kong, 1993, pls.114-5.

The cranes on each of the present dishes are nine in number: nine (九 jiu) is particularly auspicious, representing the highest yang, or male principle, number, and as a homophone for eternity (久 jiu). The present dish therefore combines three elements of great interest to the Jiajing Emperor: cranes for longevity, the number nine for luck and strength, and the colour yellow for Imperial power.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART. London, New Bond Street, 15 May 2014