226.
TWO ‘IMARI’ DISHES
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, early 18th century
… cm diam each
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. nn. …..
The well with a round medallion with a pomegranate framed by a lotus scroll, the interior of the wall with eight semi-circular panels each with a compositions of grapevines and a squirrel.
The pomegranate is a symbol of fecundity, not only for the many seeds which proliferate inside, but also because the word shiliu which identifies this fruit is homophonic of shi which means “generations”.
The grapevines also represent abundance and fertility, but when they are depicted with squirrels the composition assumes a significance of a wish for a long life. The Chinese word for squirrel is in fact songshu, “pine tree mice”, and consequently this rodent is traditionally associated with the pine tree, a widespread symbol of longevity.
A very similar dish is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (see Porcelain for Palaces. The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750, exhibition catalogue edited by J. Ayers, O. Impey and J.V.G. Mallet, London 1990, n. 255); see also the comparable dish published by Suzanne Valenstein (S. G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York 1975, p. 233, fig. 227)
