With a broad flat, scalloped rim, painted with a ground of wickerwork in red with eight roundels formed by a flying crane. In between the roundels are half – ruyi motifs and semicircular panels with flowers, positioned opposite each other. The crane itself is an auspicious symbol, representing longevity and wisdom. The reverse of the dish shows three camellia flower sprays in green and red and the base is marked with an artemisia leaf in under glaze blue within a double circle. The center with a scene from the “Romance of the Western Chamber”. Diameter 37,5 cm.
The Avalon Collection. This collection, which in the main focuses on the Interregnum and Kangxi periods
has been both carefully and sensitively formed over the last twenty-five years. The collector, a member of the English Oriental Ceramic Society, has assembled the collection with an eye for provenance whilst purchasing from old European collections, well-established antique dealers and at auction. Academically, the pieces have been well researched both in terms of their symbolism and narrative themes. In many instances the imagery on the pieces has been referenced to episodes in the romantic and historic novels of Chinese mythology, which were used extensively in the decoration of seventeenth century Chinese porcelain.