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Catalogue No.7
China: Zhengde six character mark and of the period [ 1506-21 ]
Diameter: 9.in [ 23cm ]
A rare underglaze blue and white circular dish, the gently curving sides rising from a short foot, the exterior painted with an Arabic inscription comprising ten words, interspersed with scrolling lotus flower tendrils below a narrow band of classical scrolls, the interior with a large single inscription within a quatrefoil scroll cartouche, the rim with a further band of classical scrolls.

Reference: for a nearly identical example see plate. 66, p.71, Vol.35, The Complete Collection of Treasures of The Palace Museum, Beijing; another larger example at Christies King Street, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 18 June 2002, lot 18, which was illustrated in J. Carswell, Blue and White, Chinese Porcelain around the World, p.138, no’s 160a, 160b, and Pereira de Castro, a Ceramica e a Porcelana, Chinesas, vol.2, p.58, fig.43; another example is illustrated in Masterpieces from the Ataka Collection, Tokyo, 1975, fig.92 and in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Shokakugan Series, vol.14; another in the Percival David Foundation is illustrated in the Catalogue, section 3, no.B686; and a large dish, no.29.313, plate 75 & 76, Chinese Porcelain from the Ardebil Shrine, John Alexander Pope, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, 1956.

~ see introduction ~