Auction Information

Description

This masterpiece of the Yongle Imperial Kiln, which has been hidden in Europe for nearly a century, is the "Ming Yongle Blue and White Engraved Dragon Pattern Ocean Wave Plate". It is a former collection of the famous Danish architect Solomon Serensen (1856-1937). This large plate has a regular shape, a slightly converging mouth, a wide arched belly, and shallow circular feet, which is a classic design of the Ming Dynasty's large-scale plate style. The whole body is decorated with blue and white patterns, and the inner wall is painted with twelve intertwined flowers; The outer wall is painted with four running dragons, separated by the Ren character cloud pattern. The blue and white circles in the center of the plate depict surging waves as the ground, and the white space technique is used to shallow carve the scales of the whiskers and claws to depict half of the standing dragon on the side. Only the blue and white dots are used to depict the eyes of the dragon, and the flames surrounding it are also represented by the white space technique. Against the backdrop of the waves in the blue and white sea, the dragon leaps into the abyss, creating a highly divine charm. The white dragon pattern formed by leaving the center blank is very rare in the blue and white vessels of the early Ming Dynasty, and is mostly in the shape of a three clawed dragon, following the style of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Those who use this technique will see heavy artifacts from imperial kilns, with the Tianqiu vase being the most famous. It is also collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Great Vader Foundation of the British Museum, the National Museum of Iran, and the Japan Chuguang Art Museum. In addition, there are also designs such as plum vases and large bowls. Mr. Ye Zhemin's evaluation of the artistic expressiveness of this breed is quite impressive. "The use of thick and deep blue seawater highlights a agile and dancing white dragon, making people feel as if it is immersed in the surging and surging sea, soaring in the clouds and mist, with a fierce momentum. Especially the sharp contrast between the deep blue seawater and the pure white dragon body is full of dynamic beauty, fully demonstrating the extraordinary artistic talent of the craftsmen."