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Object 2012283

Dish

China

1730-1735

Height 27 mm (1.06 inch), diameter of rim 223 mm (8.78 inch), diameter of footring 112 mm (4.41 inch), weight 298 grams (10.51 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, flat underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Decorated in various enamels, such as blue, iron-red, pink, turquoise and yellow in the centre with a two-handled flowerpot standing on a low tablle, filled with a pomegranate, finger lemon or Buddha’s Hand citron and a peach. On the sides four flowering irises. On the rim four groups of flowers and objects: a pomegranate peel and a lotus flower bound together with a calligraphy brush and a halberd, alternating with a lotus flower with a bowl of dried seeds on top bound together with a chrysanthemum flower and a ruyi sceptre. On the reverse two flowering peony sprays.

In the flowerpot three fruits are visible which all play a distinctive role in Chinese symbolism as well as daily life; the pomegranate, finger lemon and peach.

The pomegranate (punica granatum), here to the left, is not indigenous to China. It was introduced in the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) from Afghanistan. As a flowering shrub, with its handsome single and double blossoms, ranging in colour from white through pale pink to dark red, it is much cultivated in China. 

Pomegranate blossom, fruit and seeds, illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé (1840-1925), Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz in Wort und Bild für Schule und Haus (Flora of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in Word and Picture for School and Home), Germany 1885

The flowers are used with iron to make a hair-dye, the root is given as a tonic, and the dried pericarp or peel (as shown on the rim of this dish) is regarded as an astringent and anti-rheumatic remedy and also prescribed in the treatment of dysentery and diseases of the eye.

In Chinese, the pomegranate is called shi liu (石榴). Shi liu sounds the same as ‘sixteen’ and because of that the pomegranate is associated with commemorating a sixteenth birthday. In symbolism, a pomegranate may also represent a wish for a title to be continued into the next generation as shì means ‘generation; noble’.

The half-opened fruit reveals numerous seeds in auspicious red. The word seeds, zi, is in Chinese homophonous to zi meaning children or sons. Thus, the pomegranate became a well-established emblem of fertility and abundant male offspring. A picture of children with a ripe, half-open pomegranate is a very popular wedding present. It will bear the inscription liú kāi bǎi zi, (ǐ榴开百子), ‘the pomegranate brings forth a hundred seeds/sons.’

The pomegranate blossoms in the 5th Chinese lunar month, in the summer. Together with the orchid, iris and wild apple it is one of the blossoms of the four seasons.

The fingered lemon (var. citrus sarcodactylis) or Buddha’s Hand (foshou;佛手柑) is an inedible bright yellow citron with long segments that grow out of its stem, which resembles the hand position of the Buddha in meditation (dhyana mudra).

A lone citron is often regarded as representing ‘happiness’ and ‘longevity’. This is because the similarity in sound of ‘Fo’ (Buddha) and ‘Fu’ (happiness) and ‘shou’ which depending on the pronunciation can mean both hand and longevity. Buddha's hand fruit is very fragrant and is used predominantly in China, Malaysia and Japan for perfuming rooms and personal items such as clothing.

A. Poiteau: 'Limone digitata (multiforme)' (Citrus medica sarcodactylis), aquarel op perkament (watercolour on parchment), 1808

The peach (xiantao; 仙桃) tree or fruit in China is heavily overlaid with symbolism. Its wood and its colour kept demons at bay, its petals could cast spells on men and the peaches of immortality ripened only once in a thousand years. The peach is first of all a strong symbol of longevity; it is the symbol of the God of Longevity, Shoulao. It is also an emblem of marriage and springtime, because the peach tree blossoms in February, the time of the traditional Chinese New Year, an auspicious time to get married. Peach blossom is a standard decoration for the New Year. Like the pomegranate, it has many medicinal uses. For example, the fruit is said to be efficacious in lung diseases, the flowers are used as a laxative, the bark is given in jaundice or hydrophobia and the sap is a sedative.

Peach flower, fruit, seed and leaves, illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé (1840-1925), Germany 1885.

These three auspicious fruits combined are known as the Three Abundances or Three Plenties (sanduo; 三多). The pomegranate represents progeny, the peach longevity and the Buddha’s Hand happiness or spiritual blessings, in short, a wish for a long life, an abundance of sons and riches.

On the rim, we see four clusters of flowers and objects. One of the objects is a halberd (Ji;戟), a long-handled axe or pole axe, with one or two crescent-like blades on the side. 

The Chinese Halberd or Ji (戟)

It shares a homophone with a number of auspicious meanings, such as ji meaning ‘good fortune, lucky, auspicious’ and also ‘steps’ as in ‘grades’; three halberds in a vase is a well-known motif for expressing the desire for three official promotions, which can be found frequently on textiles and porcelain. 

Combined with a ruyi scepter or wish-granting wand the interpretation can be ‘May your luck and fortune be as you desire.’ 

The lotus (lian hua; 蓮花) also occurs prominently on the rim. It bears its flowers and seedpods simultaneously and is therefore a well-known symbol of fertility and prosperity. Liánzi (蓮子), its (dried) seed (here in bowls on top of the lotus) can mean either lotus seeds or is a pun for a full wallet or continuous sons. The lotus is the flower of the sixth month, the flower of summer. Like the pomegranate, the entire plant is also used medicinally, it is for example prescribed for both alcohol and mushroom poisoning. 

The combination of pomegranate and lotus means ‘May you continuously give birth to sons.’ Shown together, they sent a prominent message of numerous progeny. The occurrence of both lotus and a ruyi sceptre or wish-granting wand carries the wish that ‘all your desires will come true year after year,’ the brush, bi, combined with a ruyi means the same. The presence of a chrysanthemum, familiar symbol of longevity, and the calligraphy brush of the scholar, bi, which is also a homophone for bi meaning ‘certainly’ or ‘surely’, seem to emphasize and enhance all these wishes even more. 

Condition: A firing flaw, some frits and a chip to the inner footing, a fleabite and a short glaze hairline (only visible at the front) to the rim 

References: 

Williams 1976, p.51, pp.315-317, pp.332-333 & p.409 

Eberhard 1986, p.50, pp.104-105, pp 240-241 & pp. 227-228

Bartholomew 2006, cat. 2.16, 3.17, 3.18, 3.23.5, 4.5, 5.11, 6.2, 7.11, 7.44, 7.44.3, 9.7.1 & 9.12

Bjaalland Welch 2008, p. 55, pp. 28-30, pp. 48-49, pp. 57-58,p. 253, pp. 258-259, p. 264

Ströber 2011, p. 75, pp. 156-157, p. 160, pp. 192-195

Price: Sold.