Foliated Platter (Pan) with the Eight Buddhist Symbols (Bajixiang), Flowers, and Waves

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From the Collection: Foliated Platter with Eight Buddhist Symbols

February 10, 2015

With its foliated rim, unglazed base, and freely drawn wave motif, this plate from LACMA's collection is typical of early blue-and-white Yuan ceramics. The blue underglaze with white reserved areas emerged from innovative Yuan ceramic experiments. The platter hosts three additional concentric tiers of waves, which look as though they were spontaneously drawn. Six lobed cloud-collar patterns, seen on the largest plane of the plate, echo the gestures found on the rim. Within the six cloud patterns are illustrations of lotuses, abstract foliage, melons, grapes, bamboo, and morning glories...

Foliated Platter (Pan) with the Eight Buddhist Symbols (Bajixiang), Flowers, and Waves

China, Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen, Yuan dynasty, circa 1340-1368
Furnishings; Serviceware
Molded porcelain with blue painted decoration under clear glaze
Height: 2 1/4 in. (5.9 cm); Diameter: 17 3/4 in. (45.1 cm)
Gift of the Francis E. Fowler, Jr., Foundation and the Los Angeles County Fund (55.40)
Chinese Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

Flourishing in the Yuan dynasty, blue-and-white ceramic ware soon dominated the export market; demand for it spread rapidly....
Flourishing in the Yuan dynasty, blue-and-white ceramic ware soon dominated the export market; demand for it spread rapidly. A plate of this design and size was probably made for the Near Eastern market and would have been used on formal or ritual occasions, given as a gift, or awarded for services. This example is typical of early blue-and-white Yuan ceramics, with its foliated rim, unglazed base, and freely drawn wave motif. The technique of blue underglaze with white reserved areas, all with a clear feldspathic overglaze, emerged from innovative Yuan ceramic experiments. The feathery wave motif circles the plate's rim. Three additional concentric tiers of waves give the plate's surface a lively and unpredictable pattern. The two middle wave tiers are interrupted by six lobed cloud-collar patterns, which echo the rim shape. Designs in the cloud collars include lotuses, abstract foliage, melons, grapes, bamboo, and morning glories. Some scholars believe the cloud-collar shape derives from designs in Persian metalwork or Mongol and Tatar embroideries; others suggest that it derives from Buddhist designs representing the four cardinal directions. While the overall program of the plate's design is Islamic in taste, its primary motifs are Chinese. For example, the center medallion's eight partitions contain auspicious Buddhist symbols and the medallion itself represents the Buddhist Wheel of Law. Underneath the rim is a Near Eastern scrolling floral design of lotus or aster blossoms alternating with pomegranates.
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Bibliography

  • Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.
  • Shinzo Shirae and Warren E. Cox," The Earliest Blue and White Wares of China," Far Eastern Ceramic Group Bulletin 7 (September 1949).
  • Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.
  • Shinzo Shirae and Warren E. Cox," The Earliest Blue and White Wares of China," Far Eastern Ceramic Group Bulletin 7 (September 1949).
  • Shinzo Shirae and Warren E. Cox, "The Earliest Blue and White Wares of China (A Continuation)," Far Eastern Ceramic Group Bulletin 9 (March 1950).
  • Ayers, John, " Early Chinese Blue-and-White in the Museum of Eastern Art, Oxford," Oriental Art 3 (4) (1951).
  • Trubner, Henry.  Chinese Ceramics:  From the Prehistoric Period through Ch'ien Lung.  Los Angeles:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1952.
  • Hopkins, Henry T., ed. Illustrated Handbook of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  West Germany:  Bruder Hartmann, 1965.
  • Price, Lorna.  Masterpieces from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Los Angeles:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988.
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  New York: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
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