RARE CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE KO-SOMETSUKE 'FROG AND BUTTERFLY' DISH
MING DYNASTY, TIANQI PERIOD
Estimate: £600 - £800
Auction: 16 May 2025 from 09:00 BST
Description
明天啓 青花蛙蝶紋碟
painted with a frog on a grassy ground looking upward towards a butterfly in flight
Dimensions
15cm diameter
Provenance
Private collection, London; acquired from J.A.N Fine Art, London
倫敦私人收藏；購自倫敦骨董商J.A.N Fine Art
Footnote
Ko-Sometsuke is a term used to describe Chinese blue and white porcelain made for Japan. This late Ming porcelain was made from the Wanli period (1573-1620) through to the Tianqi period (1621 - 1627), ending in the Chongzhen period (1628-1644), with the main period of production being the 1620s and 1630s. This porcelain made in China for the Japanese reflected a rise in interest in the Japanese tea ceremony, but it also coincided with the beginning of porcelain production in Japan (from c.1610/20). The porcelain objects produced in China were made especially for the Japanese market, the shapes and designs were tailored to Japanese taste, and the production process allowed for Japanese aesthetics to be included in the finished object.
A Ming dynasty blue and white dish of similar frog and butterfly dish, dated to Jiajing to early Wanli c.1560-1585, was probably the prototype of Ko-Sometsuke, was in the Robert McPherson Antiques, stock number: 27076. For a set of five dishes of this design, see Exhibition of Ming Blue and White: Jiajing – Chongzhen, Including Dated Examples, S. Marchant & Son, London 2004.