A large blue and white 'Song of Eternal Regret' bowl
Yutang Jiaqi four-character mark, 17th centuryFinely painted in bold washes of cobalt blue with the scene of Emperor Xuanzong surrounded by Daoist magicians, one of whom is raising his wand before the Goddess of the moon, Chang E, the deity elegantly portrayed with her attendants in a pavilion and surrounded by wispy clouds, the interior with a landscape roundel.35cm (13.3/4in) diam.
注脚
The scene on the present lot is thought to be inspired by the famous Tang poem by Bo Juyi, 'The Song of Eternal Regret', which depicts the ill-fated Emperor Xuanzong searching for his beloved consort, Yang Guifei. She had been murdered by the Emperor's own bodyguard who blamed her for the events leading to the An Lushan rebellion.In the poem, the Emperor eventually reunited with his lover on an Immortal's island in the Eastern Sea, but this location had transferred to the Guan Han Palace on the moon by the 17th century, also depicted in a woodblock-illustrated book entitled Dabei duizong, a collection of stories and legends published in Jianyang, Fujian, in 1600. For a similar bowl bearing the yu tang jia qi mark, but decorated with the Eight Immortals, see Christie's New York, 17th Century Chinese Porcelains from the Collection of Julia and John Curtis, 16 March 2015, lot 3559.