T42 A “May you receive high ranks and emoluments” bowl, Wanli, Ming Dynasty

Description

Description:   Chinese porcelain bowl decorated with a combination of a bird (Què 雀), a deer (Lù鹿), a bee (Fēng 蜂) and a monkey (Hóu 猴) in a landscape with a pine tree and peaches. These phonemes create a rebus in Chinese that points to the idiomatic expression (chengyu) juelu fenghou, meaning “May you be granted high rank and emoluments”. (See “Hidden meanings in Chinese Art” by Terese Tse Bartholomew)

Dating:  17^th century, Wanli, Ming dynasty.

Size:  14.8 cm diameter

Provenance:  Antiquarian market.

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