Lot 63
A CHINESE 'SWATOW' PORCELAIN CHARGER MADE FOR THE ISLAMIC MARKET
LATE MING DYNASTY, LATE 16TH/ EARLY 17TH CENTURY
Auction: 10 June 2026 from 14:00 BST
Description
circular with curved sides rising from a short foot-ring, the opaque white glaze decorated in green and red enamels, with a central large roundel comprising Arabic calligraphy comprising Qur'anic blessings, verses and invocations to the Prophet Muhammad, surrounded by eight small calligraphic roundels, a narrow band with further Arabic calligraphy below the rim
Dimensions
37cm diameter
Provenance
Formerly, the property of a ‘M.A., Bad Endbach, Germany’; acquired Christie's, Amsterdam, Asian Art, 21st November 2007, lot 10.
Footnote
Porcelain ‘magic bowls’ bearing Arabic inscriptions were produced in China for export to Muslim communities, particularly in Southeast Asia and India. These objects can be divided into two principal groups: the first produced from the late sixteenth to the early seventeenth century, and the second emerging in the late eighteenth century. The earlier bowls feature inscriptions that reflect their talismanic purpose, whereas the later examples are decorated with magic squares.
A similar dish with less elaborate inscriptions is illustrated in B. Harrisson, Swatow in het Princessehof, Leeuwarden, 1979, p. 110-113, pl. 226, 227, 227a.