New Forms - Song/Yuan

23
A LONGQUAN CELADON ‘TWIN FISH’ DISH
Yuan dynasty, 1279-1368
龍 泉 青 釉 雙 魚 紋 折 沿 盤 ( 元 1279-1368)
See, Stacey Pierson, Designs as Signs: Decoration and Chinese Ceramics, London:
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London, 2001, p. 19.
Dimensions: 12.5 cm diameter
Provenance: - A private English collection
- Purchased from Bamfords Auctioneers, Derby, in the early 2000s
- A private European collection
This type of dishes was produced in the Longquan kiln, Zhejiang province. The
sides of the dish carved with lotus petals, the interior with two fish carved in relief
swimming in opposite direction, thereby representing marital bliss. The dish overall
in a pale celadon glaze, the foot and base partially glazed.
Chinese art is abundant with the use of rebuses or visual puns in its design and
decoration. Pronounced yú in Chinese, the word for “fish” is a homonym for ‘surplus’
or ‘abundance’. The use of fish can therefore be interpreted as a wish to the viewer for
abundance in all things. The use of two fish, or shuangyú meaning ‘double fish’, as is
the case in this dish is a wish for abundance or great fortune to the owner.