A Chinese famille rose plate decorated with goldfishes. Yongzheng
Decorated in the famille rose palette with goldfishes painted in red, pink or grey amongst seaweed ; the border with fers-de-lance.
- Country:
- China
- Period :
- Yongzheng (1723-1735)
- Material:
- Porcelain
- Dimension:
- 8.66 in. (23 cm)
- Reference :
- D470
- Status:
- sold
Provenance
The collection of Madame X, Limoges
Notice
The goldfish, a descendant of the carp, is native to Southeast China. The characters for goldfish (jinyu) convey the idea of “gold” (jin) and “jade” (yu), two indications of wealth. In addition, yu for “fish” is also a homophone for “surplus”. When the goldfish are depicted in a pond (tang), as on this bowl, the meaning becomes “May gold and jade fill your house” (jinyu mantang) or in other words “May you have a prosperous household”.
