A BLUE AND WHITE 'BUDDHIST LIONS' BOWL Chenghua six-character mark and of the period Rising from a short foot, the gently rounded sides toward to a slightly everted rim, the centre of the interior decorated with a ruyi-head garland, the exterior painted with a pair of striding Buddhist lions pursuing brocaded balls with ribbons. 15.3cm (6in) diam. Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 明成化 青花雙獅戲球紋碗 青花「大明成化年製」楷書款 Provenance: John Drew (1933-2006), England (collector's notes) Acquired from R & G McPherson Antiques, London, in June 2007 (collector's notes) Published and Illustrated: M.White, Eating at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White collection, vol.3, n.p, 2022, p.41 來源：John Drew (1933-2006)，英格蘭（藏家筆記） 獲得于倫敦古董商R & G McPherson Antiques，2007年6月（藏家筆記） 著錄： M.White，《Eating at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White collection》，第3冊，無出版地，2022年，第41頁 John Drew (1933-2006) was born in Tideswell, Derbyshire, and educated at Sedbergh School and the Queen's College, Oxford. He spent the majority of his professional career as an archivist in various African countries, before taking up a post at the University of Cape Town in 1978. His collection of Chinese ceramics encompasses pieces from the Neolithic period through to the eighteenth century. See R.Davids & D.Jellinek, Provenance: Collectors, Dealers and Scholars: Chinese Ceramics in Britain and America, Oxford, 2011, p.157. The motif of lions with brocade balls is a traditional auspicious design, and lion dancing is likewise a long-standing folk custom in China, symbolising peace and prosperity for the nation and its people. In the Ming dynasty, the motif gained popularity during the Xuande period while it is more rarely seen on Chenghua examples as the present lot. Compared with Xuande period examples, Chenghua lions are characterised by manes that are both sparser and shorter. Compare with a related blue and white 'Buddhist lion' dish, Xuande six-character mark and period, in the collection of the Tianjin Museum, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasty Collected by Tianjin Museum (青藍雅靜：館藏明清清華瓷器陳列), Beijing, 2013, p.20. See also a related blue and white 'Buddhist lions' bowl, Xuande six-character mark but Chenghua period, excavated from the Imperial kiln site in Jingdezhen, in the collection of the Jingdezhen Ceramic Archaeological Institute, illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Chenghua in the Ming dynasty II: A Comparison of Porcelains from the Imperial Kiln Site at Jingdezhen and Imperial Collection of the Palace Museum (明代成化御窯瓷器下：景德鎮御窯遺址出土與故宮博物院藏傳世瓷器對比), Beijing, 2016, pl.58, pp.156-157. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing