Ming - Jia jing - Blue and White Small Plate

Offered by: Catherine Hunt Oriental Ceramics
Dealer reference: 6264

Description

Ming blue and white 16th century - Made during the reign of the Emperor Jia Jing- at the kilns at Jingdezhen
Painted to the centre with a deer and a monkey in a naturalistic setting with insects and butterflies flying around.
The animals are beneath a flowering tree.
Although the monkey is the ninth emblem of the zodiac it also can be the representation of a god as it was thought that gods may take the form of the Monkey at times.
The deer symbolises longevity and was the companion of Shou Lao
The sides of the dish are painted with items associated with the scholar and insects and to the underside there is a four character mark to the base - fu gui jiaqi - and scrolling foliage and lotus flowers to the underside of the rim

Diameter: 14.00cm (5.51 inches)