CATALOGUE 2008
MING DYNASTY, SIX-CHARACTERWANLI MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1573–1619)
LENGTH: 16.1CM
The three-peaked porcelain mountain-shaped brushrest is moulded and decorated in underglaze blue with two five-clawed dragons flanking a fullfaced leaping five-clawed dragon, while the back depicts a stylised mountain range. This is all supported by a lobed pedestal and the base is left mostly unglazed with the exception of a recessed horizontal cartouche enclosing the six-character ‘Da Ming Wanli Nian Zhi’ mark within double rectangle borders.
SIMILAR EXAMPLE
A similar-sized Wanli blue and white brushrest with a three-dragon motif from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts is published in Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition, In Pursuit of the Dragon: Traditions and Transitions in Ming Ceramics, Seattle, 1988, p. 143, Catalogue No. 76.
PROVENANCE
A Private French Collection
明萬曆青花三龍筆架 「大明萬曆年製」款
