Schotel met decor van qilin, Swatow

Dish with small, rounded rim, the foot and the glazed base with kiln grit. The inside painted in underglaze kobaltblue with a qilin amidst flames, encircled by a wave border, around the well two opposing chrysanthemum sprays growing from rocks and the rim with cross-hatched diapers. On the exterior between bands two opposing qilin separated by sprays. The qilin is swiftly drawn in fluent, bold brushstrokes without outlines, which places the dish in group I. Because of the consistency of the painting it has been suggested that only one painter was involved in decorating such a dish instead of several as could be done with dishes showing complicated borders. The decoration is reminiscent of designs on early 16th century Jingdezhen porcelains. Central designs showing Fo-dogs or Buddhist lions in this style are also known. Shards of dishes in this style and with this decoration have been unearthed from the Erlong kiln site in Wuzhai, Pinghe county. The border design was also found on objects retrieved from the San Diego Galleon (1600) and the Witte Leeuw (1613) held dishes with a Buddhist lion depicted in the central medallion. Similar dishes are found in the Museum für Kunsthandw...