A LARGE LONGQUAN CELADON DISH, MING DYNASTY Size:... Lot 48

A LARGE LONGQUAN CELADON DISH, MING DYNASTY Size: 46 cm (D) The rounded sides rising from a short foot to a slightly everted lipped rim, decorated with lotus sprays on the cavetto and on the centre, covered overall in a sage-green glaze. The thickly applied jade-like glaze of the ‘Longquan’ wares has been much admired and sought after since the fifth and sixth centuries in China. However, vessels of this large size and incised decoration began in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasty, signalling a change in the decorative strategies of ‘Longquan’ wares that corresponded to new foreign influences and increased export demand for wares of this type. ‘Longquan’ wares were exported to the Middle East and became essential vessels in the large communal banquets held by royalty, such as the Ottoman sultanate in Istanbul. Provenance: Sotheby’s London, 30 June 1937; Bluett& Sons Ltd., London (Label) Stock No.3191; Maurice Ingram (1890 -1941) ; Andrew Williams Esq., Oxfordshire