Juliette Hammer
Sale Coordinator
PROPERTY FROM THE LI FAN THOMPSON COLLECTION 範麗藏品
Lot 132
AN INCISED PALE CELADON 'RUYI' SAUCER-DISH Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period
15 May 2025, 11:30 BST
London, New Bond Street£10,000 - £15,000
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Chen Xie
Specialist
Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
Lazarus Halstead
Head of Chinese and Asian Art, London
AN INCISED PALE CELADON 'RUYI' SAUCER-DISH
Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period
Elegantly potted with curved shallow sides rising from a short inward-tapering foot, the exterior finely incised with a band of leafy sprays of lingzhi fungus and covered with a pale blue glaze, the interior and base glazed white, the base with underglaze blue mark within a double circle, box.
11.7cm (4 5/8in) diam. (2).
Elegantly potted with curved shallow sides rising from a short inward-tapering foot, the exterior finely incised with a band of leafy sprays of lingzhi fungus and covered with a pale blue glaze, the interior and base glazed white, the base with underglaze blue mark within a double circle, box.
11.7cm (4 5/8in) diam. (2).
Footnotes
清雍正 粉青釉暗刻靈芝紋小盤
青花「大清雍正年製」楷書款
Provenance: Professor E.T. Hall C.B.E. (1924-2001) collection, no.45 (label)
Christie's London, 7 June 2004, lot 163
The Li Fan Thompson collection, London
來源： 大英帝國勛章獲得人E.T.Hall (1924-2001)教授舊藏，編號45（據標籤）
倫敦佳士得，2004年6月7日，拍品編號163
範麗收藏，倫敦
Professor Edward Thomas 'Teddy' Hall (1924–2001) was a scientist and inventor educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, with private means. A pioneer in archaeometry, he played a key role in exposing the Piltdown Man hoax and dating the Turin Shroud to the medieval period. He founded the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and Art History and the Littlemore Scientific Engineering Company. A passionate collector, he amassed significant holdings of Chinese monochromes, fifteenth-century blue and white porcelain, clocks (including the highly accurate 'Littlemore Clock'), and scientific instruments. He was a Trustee of the National Gallery and the British Museum, served on the Science Museum's Advisory Council, and was Prime Warden of Goldsmiths College. An avid hot-air balloonist, he designed his own balloon, 'Flaming Pearl.' A regular client of Bluett's and Marchant, he collected Qing Imperial monochromes.
During the Yongzheng reign, qingbai-type glazes were refined in homage to Song dynasty ceramics. Originally developed in the Song and Yuan periods, qingbai ware featured a translucent blue-green glaze over fine porcelain. Under the Yongzheng Emperor, the Jingdezhen kilns produced delicate vessels with thin, even glazes, closely echoing Southern Song examples. This revival reflected the Yongzheng Emperor's antiquarian taste, favouring restrained elegance over the vibrant polychrome enamels of later Qing dynasty reigns. A similar dish, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period is illustrated by P.Y.K.Lam, Shimmering Colours: Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods: The Zhuyuetang Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, p.157, no.86; and another is illustrated by L.C.S.Tam, Monochrome Ceramics of Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1977, p.70, no.74.
The lingzhi fungus, a popular motif in Chinese art, symbolises longevity and is linked to the ruyi sceptre as a wish-granting emblem. Often paired with bamboo (a pun for 'congratulations'), it conveys birthday blessings. The lingzhi was especially revered by the Yongzheng Emperor. According to the Veritable Records, in the sixth year of his reign, five luminous lingzhi sprouted in the Kangxi Emperor's mausoleum. Delighted, the Yongzheng Emperor saw this as a divine omen from his ancestor, deepening the motif's significance in Yongzheng-period porcelain as a symbol of prosperity and celestial favour.
A very similar celadon-glazed 'lingzhi' saucer dish, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period, was sold at Christie's New York, 23 March 2018, lot 782.