Dish
ca. 1765-1795 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The design on this dish is related to Tibetan Buddhism, probably inspired by a headdress known as a 'five-leaf crown'. The five leaves represent the five Buddhas: Vairocana (centre), Aksobhya (east), Ratnasambhava (south), Amitabha (west) and Amogha (north). The Tibetan characters are probably invocations. Qing emperors were not monotheists. Besides performing the official sacrifices to Heaven, Earth and ancestors they also erected temples within the Forbidden City where Buddhist and Daoist deities were worshipped. It has been suggested that the Qing rulers sanctioned Tibetan Buddhism as a means of winning the goodwill of the Mongolian and Tibetan nobilities.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Porcelain, painted in coloured enamels |
| Brief description | Dish, decorated in doucai, Caihua tang zhi mark, China, Jingdezhen, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, ca. 1765-96 |
| Physical description | Dish decorated in doucai colours of red, green, yellow and aubergine overglaze enamels and underglaze blue. In the centre is a flowerhead, around which are five leaf-like patterns linked by a chain. Tibetan characters are placed between the leaf-like patterns and round the rim. The same decoration is repeated on the back of the dish. On the base is the mark Caihua Tang zhi (made for the Hall of Many-Coloured Flowers) written in overglaze red within a double circle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | On the base is the mark Caihua Tang zhi (made for the Hall of Many-Coloured Flowers) written in overglaze red within a double circle. |
| Object history | Purchased from Dr. S. W. Bushell, accessioned in 1883. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Summary | The design on this dish is related to Tibetan Buddhism, probably inspired by a headdress known as a 'five-leaf crown'. The five leaves represent the five Buddhas: Vairocana (centre), Aksobhya (east), Ratnasambhava (south), Amitabha (west) and Amogha (north). The Tibetan characters are probably invocations. Qing emperors were not monotheists. Besides performing the official sacrifices to Heaven, Earth and ancestors they also erected temples within the Forbidden City where Buddhist and Daoist deities were worshipped. It has been suggested that the Qing rulers sanctioned Tibetan Buddhism as a means of winning the goodwill of the Mongolian and Tibetan nobilities. |
| Bibliographic reference | Wilson, Ming, Rare marks on Chinese ceramics, London : Published by the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1998
7 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 83&A-1883 |
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| Record created | January 7, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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