A BLUE AND WHITE DOCUMENTARY INSCRIBED TOMB TABLET AND STAND Dated by inscription to the 36th year of the Wanli reign, corresponding to 1608 and of the period The tablet of rectangular form with a protruding section at the base, written on both sides with long inscriptions, accompanied by a fitted stand inscribed to the front with two characters reading muzhi ('epitaph') and the reverse decorated with a lotus blossom. 25cm (9 7/8in) high. (2). Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 明萬曆三十六年（1608） 青花墓志銘瓷板 Provenance: East Asian Museum, Ulricehamn, Sweden (collector's notes) Acquired from R & G McPherson Antiques, London, on 8 January 2009 (label and collector's notes) Published and Illustrated: The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Chinese Ceramic Treasures: A Selection from the Ulricehamn East Asian Museum, including The Carl Kempe Collection, Ulricehamn, 2002, pp.250-251, no.94. M.White, People at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White collection, vol.5, n.p, 2024, pp.98-99 Exhibited: English Ceramic Circle Exhibition, London, 2009 (label) 來源：東亞博物館，烏爾裏瑟港，瑞典（藏家筆記） 獲得于R & G McPherson Antiques，倫敦，2009年1月8日（標簽和藏家筆記） 著錄： 烏爾裡瑟港藝術與遠東文物博物館，《Chinese Ceramic Treasures. A Selection from the Ulricehamn East Asian Museum, Including the Carl Kempe Collection》，烏爾裏瑟港，2002年，第250-251頁，編號94 M.White，《People at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White collection》，第5冊，無出版地，2024年，第98-99頁 展覽：英國陶瓷學會，倫敦，2009年（標簽） Funerary tomb tablets (muzhi) from the late Ming period served as formal commemorative records, typically inscribed with biographical details, official titles, family lineage, and moral virtues of the deceased. Intended to be interred within the tomb rather than displayed, they reflect the Confucian emphasis on filial piety, social order, and the preservation of memory. The inscription on the front side reads: 墓志 明故陳公伯仲先生之墓 鄉進士 陳大☐吉撰文 按公字伯仲，崇之念三其行也，吳鎮裏仁之巨族。祖富八之，隱君子，治陶業創起家聲。生公父信偕，母胡氏内助，生公兄有三，曰伯、儀、儒，皆卓立有成頓，于嘉靖四十五年七月初二日酉時而終。皇旌未下，兹卜宅兆，杼龍舡塢，作坤山艮向，寅申三分，擇戊申年十月初十日甲子申時之吉兹焉，之靈庇廕，遭賜孫技榮，秀似綿綿之瓜瓞，是銘，皇明萬曆三十六年戊申冬月吉旦。 Which may be translated as: The tomb of the late Chen Bozhong. Composed by County Presented Scholar Chen Da(?)ji. The gentleman was a man whose conduct was thrice worthy of esteem. He belonged to a prominent family in Liren of Wuzhen. His grandfather, Bazhi, lived as a recluse of noble character, managing pottery works and thereby establishing the family's reputation. The gentleman's father was Xinxie; his mother was of the Hu clan, a supportive and virtuous wife. The gentleman had three brothers-Bo, Yi, and Ru-all of whom were distinguished and accomplished. The gentleman passed away peacefully on the second day of the seventh month in the forty-fifth year of Jiajing (1566), during the You hour, before any Imperial commendation had been issued. Now a burial site has been chosen, with the tomb auspiciously oriented. The auspicious time selected is the Shen time, Jiazi day of the tenth of the tenth month in the Wushen year (1608). May his spirit bestow protection and blessing, granting honour to his descendants, and may their flourishing continue unbroken like an endless vine of gourds. Thus is this inscription made, on an auspicious day of the winter month in the thirty-sixth year of the Wanli reign. The inscription on the reverse reads: 孝男陳囯念六息計氏貴真，(陳)囯三三息潘氏細真。孫男陳勲，孫息程氏初真，出嫁女陳氏清秀。血立書。 Which may be translated as: Filial sons Chen Guonian, with wife Ji Guizhen; and Chen Guosan, with wife Cheng Chuzhen. Grandson: Chen Xun, with his wife Cheng Chuzhen; and a married daughter Chen Qingxiu. Inscribed by blood. See a related blue and white tomb tablet, dated 1555, in the collection of the British Museum, London (acc.no.PDF,B.633). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing