Chinese export porcelain plate decorated in opaque enamels from the famille rose (fencai) palette enamels with two boys,Yongzheng

Very rare Chinese export porcelain plate decorated in opaque enamels from the famille rose (fencai) palette enamels in the centre with two little boys “back to back”, c. 1735, Yongzheng reign, Qing dynasty, d. 22,5 cm, 8¾ in. 3.13257

Illustrated: 100 Years of Chinese Export Porcelain, by A. Varela Santos, 2014/2015, cat. 69.

Provenance: Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 18 June 1980.

Literature: La Ceramique Chinoise sous les Ts’ing, by J.P. van Goidsenhoven, Brussels 1936, plate 86, cat 190 for a similar plate.

◆The birth of a son is a joyful occasion and brings great happiness to a family. A popular image in China shows two boys placed back-to-back to look like four boys, meaning “Four happy occasions”: the joy of having rain after a drought, the joy of meeting an old friend in a faraway place, the joy of the wedding night and the joy of finding ones name in the list of those who past the civil service exam.

This auspicious motif stands for good luck and wishes for all the good things in life.

中國外銷瓷粉彩吉祥四喜盤, 盤中央繪有兩個“背靠背”的男孩, 約1735年, 清雍正, 直徑 22.5 釐 米, 83⁄4英吋。

圖示: 《百年中国外销瓷》,作者阿.瓦瑞拉. 桑托斯, 2014/2015, 編號69。

藏品來源: 蘇富比阿姆斯特丹拍賣會, 1980年6月18日。

參考文獻：《清代中國瓷器》,作者J.P. van Goidsenhoven,1936年布魯塞爾出版,參見圖版86, 編號190一件相似的盤子。

◆ 喜得貴子給家庭帶來歡愉和幸福.兩個男孩“背靠背”看起來象四個小孩, 這在中國是一個家喻戶曉的

畫面, 意寓“四喜臨門”: 久旱逢甘雨; 他鄉遇故知; 洞房花燭夜; 金榜題名時. 這一吉祥主題代表好運, 祝福生活美好, 心想事成。