Chinese Porcelain Dragon Inscription Bitong

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Chinese porcelain dragon inscription bitong, a large finely formed brush pot with straight sides, a double top rim, a blue … Read more Chinese porcelain dragon inscription bitong, a large finely formed brush pot with straight sides, a double top rim, a blue and white glazed exterior, and a white glazed interior and inset base, the base encircled by unglazed, double rims. A cartouche of a finely drawn and detailed ocean carp and sea dragon amid roiling ocean waves, spume and winds decorates one side of the exterior, while the other side is taken up with four inscriptions ending in a red seal mark. A blue, Kang Xi Xin Hai Zhong He Tang Zhi, date and place mark in kaishu script is glazed to the inset base. Circa Republic of China era or earlier.

date mark: Kang Xi Xin Hai, the 31st year of the cycle beginning 1684 = 1715, during the Kang Xi reign

place mark: Zhong He Tang Zhi: Hall of Middle Harmony or The Hall of Central Harmony (one of the three halls of the Outer Court of the Forbidden City, in Beijing, China, along with the Hall of Supreme Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony. It is smaller than the other two halls, and is square in shape. It was used by the Emperor to prepare and rest before and during ceremonies.

Ocean carp and dragon: According to legend, a carp that successfully swims upstream and leaps over the Dragon Gate undergoes a transformation into a dragon. Historically, this metaphor symbolized the elevation in status attained by a Chinese scholar after overcoming the rigorous levels of the Chinese civil exams. See less