Provenance
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20 May 1986, 'Important Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art, Jades and Jade Jewellery', lot 23.
S. Marchant & Son, London, acquired from the above.
The Drs. A. M. Sengers Collection, collection no. 200, acquired from the above in June 1986.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2001 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scans)
Exhibited & illustrated:
Museum Het Prinsenhof, exhibited on loan for their October 1990 exhibition of 'Schatten uit de Oost of De Kunst van het Verzamelen', at the 42nd Delft Antique Fair in October 1990, 'Eighty Years Chinese Ceramic history in a Dutch Private Porcelain Collection', no. 3, pl. XLV.
S. Marchant & Son, London, included in their November 2001 exhibition of 'Ming Blue and White Porcelain. The Drs. A. M. Sengers Collection', illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 22-23, no. 15. Also illustrated in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', Vol. I, p. 186, fig 307 and Vol. II, p. 24, fig. 1020.
Description
Elegantly potted with deep rounded sides rising from a short foot to a slightly flared rim, the exterior finely painted in rich underglaze blue with a continuous scene of eight boys at play in a garden landscape amongst craggy rockwork, pine and flowering camellia. One boy is depicted having fallen into a large fish bowl and being rescued by a companion who raises a rock to shatter the vessel, while the remaining boys engage in various playful pursuits, including riding a hobby horse, holding a fan and watching the dramatic scene unfold. The design is reserved above a band of overlapping lotus petals encircling the lower body. The interior is centred with a medallion enclosing a flowering peony spray. The base bears a six-character Wanli reign mark in underglaze blue within a double circle.
The principal scene illustrates the celebrated story of Sima Guang Breaking the Vat. Sima Guang (1019–1086), the eminent Song dynasty statesman and historian, is said to have rescued a childhood companion who had fallen into a large water-filled ceramic vat. While the other children panicked, Sima Guang remained calm. Rather than attempting to pull the boy from the vessel, he picked up a stone and smashed the vat, allowing the water to drain away and saving his friend's life. The story became one of the best-known moral exemplars in Chinese culture, celebrated as a lesson in intelligence, decisiveness, and presence of mind.
Depictions of the subject are comparatively uncommon on Ming porcelain and are particularly desirable for their narrative quality. The motif gained renewed popularity in Japan during the late seventeenth century, where it appeared on Kakiemon wares, and subsequently entered the decorative repertory of European ceramics. In the West the scene became known as ‘Hob in the Well’, a name derived from a popular London theatrical production of 1715, and was widely copied by English and Continental factories throughout the eighteenth century.
The group of playful boys (yingxi tu) carries additional auspicious significance, conveying wishes for numerous sons, familial prosperity and the continuation of the family line. The combination of this auspicious theme with the celebrated story of Sima Guang makes the present bowl a particularly appealing example of late Ming narrative blue and white porcelain.
Wanli mark and of the period
Dia.: 15,4 cm - H.: 6,1 cm
Estimation
€ 12.000,00 – € 18.000,00
Provenance
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20 May 1986, 'Important Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art, Jades and Jade Jewellery', lot 23.
S. Marchant & Son, London, acquired from the above.
The Drs. A. M. Sengers Collection, collection no. 200, acquired from the above in June 1986.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above in 2001 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scans)
Exhibited & illustrated:
Museum Het Prinsenhof, exhibited on loan for their October 1990 exhibition of 'Schatten uit de Oost of De Kunst van het Verzamelen', at the 42nd Delft Antique Fair in October 1990, 'Eighty Years Chinese Ceramic history in a Dutch Private Porcelain Collection', no. 3, pl. XLV.
S. Marchant & Son, London, included in their November 2001 exhibition of 'Ming Blue and White Porcelain. The Drs. A. M. Sengers Collection', illustrated in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 22-23, no. 15. Also illustrated in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', Vol. I, p. 186, fig 307 and Vol. II, p. 24, fig. 1020.