166.
A ‘FAMILLE VERTE’ DISH
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, early 18th century
39,8 cm diam
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. 3948.
The rim of this large and well painted dish is decorated with the Eight Daoist Immortals (Baxian), each standing on the back of an animal amidst rough sea waves. This theme is inspired by a legend which was very popular during the Ming dynasty, known as “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” (Baxian guohai). According to it, the group of divinities were obliged to overcome an ocean before to reach the Mount Penglai to attend the “Conference of the Magical Peach” (pan tao hui). This myth is at the origin of the proverb Baxian guohai, gexian shentong which is a spur for everybody to use his talent to pass the daily difficulties.
The finely painted decoration of the well consists in a scene with lotus flowers and in a pond.
The iconography of the lotus flower (hehua or lianhua) is rather cross in Chinese art. If on the one hand, its representation immediately refers to Buddhism, as a symbol of purity and rebirth, as a consequence of the fact that it blossoms among the muddy waters, on the other hand the lotus also appears in Daoist context, for example as an attribute of He Xianghu, one of the Eight Immortals.
The combination of lotus flowers and ducks is connected with the wish for harmony and union in marriage. The characters that compose the two names which identify the lotus flower are in fact homophones of the characters that mean “to link” and “peace”. A pair of ducks (yuanyang) also represents a married couple, because of the ancient belief they mate for the whole life.
For a series of six dishes with the same decorative composition from the Medici collection in Florence, see F. Morena, Dalle Indie orientali alla corte di Toscana. Collezioni di arte cinese e giapponese a Palazzo Pitti, Florence 2005, p. 209, n. 123; another related dish is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inv. n. 79.2.1288); see also the similar piece in the British Museum (inv. n. Franks.863), the one in the Princesshof Museum, Leeuwarden (inv. NO 00419), the smaller pair in Owletts, Kent (inv. n. NT 1410820.1, 3) and the one in the Museum for Far Eastern Museum in Stockholm (inv. BS-2223). .
