Chinese underglaze copper red dish with peony motif, Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty (1368-98), sold for $275,000.
DALLAS & NEW YORK CITY — Heritage Auctions simultaneously conducted its Fine & Decorative Asian Art Signature® Auction in Dallas and New York City on September 20 and 21, achieving $1,480,866 with 423 lots of porcelain, jade, bronze and many other mediums. Three serving vessels were at the top of the sale, the foremost of them being a rare and large Chinese underglaze copper red dish with peony motifs that sold for $275,000. From the Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty (1368-98), the dish was part of the Dr Cornelius Osgood and Soo Sui-ling Osgood collection. The dish had been restored professionally with some overpainting, mostly visible on the rim, but this did not affect the final sale.
“Large-size ware with the well-balanced lobed rim, such as [this dish], is nearly impossible to survive to the present time,” writes the SOAS University of London’s Dr Chih-En Chen, a scholar of porcelain artworks. “As a result, only a small number of dishes of this form are recorded. In terms of the number and variety of peonies, the Osgood example is among one of the best in this genre. Only three other red-painted Hongwu six-peony dishes of comparable size and form have ever been published.”
Second in the top lots was a small Chinese enameled dish from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The dish was “overall presenting well” with no chips, cracks or restorations observed. Its red enamel exterior contrasted with a milk-white interior and bottom, onto which there was a six-character Yongzheng mark. These markings indicate particular imperial periods within a dynasty, and this bowl came from 1723-35 during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. It sold for $68,750.
Third in price was a Chinese famille jaune bowl with floriate and cloud patterns surrounding a character medallion on the exterior, and a grouping of bats surrounding a symbol for good luck on the interior. This bowl showed a six-character Jiaqing mark (1796-1820) on its bottom surface. It was exhibited at the Joslyn Art Museum for their 2008 exhibition, “Elegance of the Qing Court: Reflections of a Dynasty Through Its Art” and published in the show’s catalog. The bowl bid to $57,500.
Prices are quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 214-409-1425 or www.ha.org.
