A wonderful Chinese export quatrefoil footed dish with an unusual fort scene, painted in polychrome enamels and measures 11″ by 8-3/4″ and is 2-3/4″ high. I found this piece in 1995 at the long gone and much missed outdoor Chelsea flea market on Sixth Avenue & 26th Street in NYC. At the time of purchase, I paid more for this dish than any other piece in my collection, but I loved the decoration combined with the many repairs and had to have it. Fifteen years later, it remains a favorite of mine and I have yet to see another example with a similar decoration
If anyone can translate these Chinese characters I would greatly appreciate it
Multiple repairs include metal “cuff” patches mask large chips along the edges…
and crudely made lozenge-shaped iron rivets, which seem to have been mass produced and are different than the more commonly seen staples made from wire
The decoration on my dish could have been inspired by Fort Folly in the Pearl River, as seen in this fine China trade oil painting, c.1840
photo courtesy of Richard Gould Antiques
Tags: Chinese, metal patch, porcelain, staples/rivets
hi, Andrew
Thanks for your presenation on AIGA boston event! It is very impressive !
I am a Chinese designer.I have some information about this dish maybe you like to know.
1. The four Chinese Character on dish pronaunced as ” teng ge gao feng”.
2. “teng ge” is a historical building besides river, located in city Nanchang, Jian Xi province. There was a well-known poem about it, that’s why this building is very famous. You may google it as ” teng wang ge” and get the image about this building.
3. The rest of two words means enjoying wind blowing at higher location. I guess it is discribies overlook the whole Nanchang city from “teng ge” with pleasure. Jiang Xi provience is well known as a porcelain product manufacture since Qin dynasty.
By the way, there is a document records a plate, on which with same Chinese character as yours dish. It is a courtesy of a family, they possess this plate since Qin danasty, about 105 years ago. No image could be tracked.
I hope this information is what you like to have, though my English writing is sucks.
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A footed dish very similar to your is to appear at auction on 15th November 2012 at Bonhams in Edinburgh Scotland.