Set Six Large Blue and White Chinese Porcelain Plates Hand-Painted Kangxi Era

This set of six blue and white Chinese porcelain dishes was hand-painted 300 years ago, circa 1700, during the Kangxi dynasty. According to Sir Harry Garner, author of Oriental Blue and White, “The Kangxi blue and white reached a technical excellence that has never been surpassed.” These dishes are of the rare “double dinner” size, 11″ in diameter. The dishes are each hand painted in a vibrant deep cobalt blue. We see a rocky outcropping with a pair of songbirds, beautiful peonies in full bloom, and a delicate flowering plum tree. The effect is gorgeous! The crisp cobalt blue border has intricate patterning with panels showing a single peony separated by scrolling vines and floral decoration.
This decorative style was especially popular during the early Kangxi period.*
On the underside, the dishes have the Chinese Kangxi Era square or “Fret” mark inside a double circle in underglaze blue. A traditional Chinese scene can be beautiful and also convey symbolic meaning. Peonies symbolize female beauty, royalty, wealth, and honor in Chinese tradition and have long been adored for their bold size and beautiful colors. The plum tree flowers early in the spring, announcing the end of winter and the rebirth of nature. Hence, it symbolizes endurance and hope.

Dimensions:11″ in diameter x 1″ tall

Condition: Excellent

* Blue and white shards painted with rocks and floral subjects have been excavated from Kangxi era Jingdezhen private kiln sites and early 18th-century Chinese shipwrecks sunk in the South China Sea.