32.
A ‘BLUE AND WHITE’ BOWL
Ming dynasty, circa 1640
19,5 cm diam.
Apocryphal Da Ming Xuande nianzhi six-character mark.
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. 3489.
The bowl is painted around the exterior with stags and does, and the interior central medallion with a long-tailed bird, possibly a phoenix, all on rolling grassy ground with lingzhi fungus below clouds.
The Chinese character for deer, lu, is a homophone for lu, meaning “good fortune” and “government salary”. It is also another word for “precious jade”. The Daoist God of Longevity, Shoulao, is often shown with a deer beside him, and deer have therefore also come to represent the auspicious wish for long life, as well as the lingzhi fungus associated with immortality.
The combination of stags and does may also relate to the wish for marital bliss and continuity of the family.
