A LARGE ASIAN-INSPIRED BLUE AND WHITE POTTERY CHARGER WITH CHINESE LANDSCAPE
Possibly Kirman, Southern Iran, mid to late 17th century

A LARGE ASIAN-INSPIRED BLUE AND WHITE POTTERY CHARGER WITH CHINESE LANDSCAPE
Possibly Kirman, Southern Iran, mid to late 17th century

Of typical shallow rounded shape, resting on a short circular foot, rising to an everted rim with a scalloped profile, painted in cobalt blue with black outlines under a transparent glaze against a milky white ground, the large central medallion on the interior decorated with a typical Chinese landscape view featuring a small pavilion by a pond in the foreground, uneven rock and twisted tree trunks in the background, surrounded by a decorative band with stylised vegetal sprays and Chinese 'ru' cloud motifs, the cavetto incised with more scrollwork, the exterior with an Asian-inspired band of interlocking lotus flowers and rosette sprays, the base marked with a pseudo-Chinese seal encased in a square, 45cm diam. and 8.5cm high.

In the Sarikhani Collection, a very similar Safavid blue and white pottery charger (I.CE.2191) showcases analogous dimensions (50cm diam. and 10cm high) and Chinese porcelain-inspired motifs to our lot. The Sarikhani dish copies a very recurrent late 16th-century style of Chinese export ware, characterised by an everted plain border around a central roundel with Asian landscape views (O. Watson, Ceramics of Iran, 2020, cat. 188, p. 365). The traditional Asian vegetation with twisted tree trunks and spiky bushes establishes a link between these two chargers and their inspiring models produced for export both to Europe and the Islamic lands, most likely at the Ming kiln of Jingdezhen. The presence of a pseudo-Chinese seal on the base of both chargers further emphasises the Persian potters' ambition to produce wares as close and faithful as possible to the Asian originals.

Indeed, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Chinese blue and white wares were sought after not only by royals but also by the middle class in Iran, yielding a profitable “business” opportunity for local potters. Made of fritware (not porcelain), these Persian Asian-inspired blue and white vessels often showcased Daoist and Buddhist symbols, introducing these foreign motifs into the artistic vocabulary of the Islamic lands. The likelihood of Persian potters grasping the original significance of such symbols may be slim, but their eyes and hands transformed them with great inventiveness into recognisable and standardised Asian-inspired attributes, quenching their clients' thirst for foreign exotica pieces. Their genius for establishing a thriving market of more affordable, locally crafted imitations ought to be celebrated: these ceramics proved to be sought after not only by those who couldn't afford the prohibitive costs of import-export but also by those impatient buyers who did not feel like waiting for months to receive the precious cargo, wondering if the expensive goods will eventually reach their final destination intact and unharmed. In recent years, the label “Made in China” travelled across the whole globe as a motto highlighting not only the extent of globalisation but also cheaper labour, readily available material, and mass production with visuals and contents close enough to the original models, yet not quite identical or perfect. It is amusing to think that 150 years ago, the same motto would have probably sounded a lot more like “Made in Persia”, showcasing yet again how closely interlinked Qajar Iran and Qing China were in the 19th century.

Dimensions: 45cm diam. and 8.5cm high