207.
A GILT POWDER-BLUE GROUND AND ‘FAMILLE VERTE’ DISH
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, early 18th century
… cm diam
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. ….
The motif of the boy holding a lotus is popular on Chinese porcelain from already the sixteenth-seventh century.
The word lotus is a pun for ‘continuous’ (lian) and the boy symbolises the wish for a son. Together, they represent the blessing of continuously giving birth to distinguished sons (liansheng guizi).
The Duca di Martina Museum owns a cloisonné enamel dish, a large polychrome porcelain dish and a jar dated to the Transitional period with this same motif.
