82 - A pair of Chinese blue and white 'three friends' dishes

A pair of Chinese blue and white 'three friends' dishes Kangxi period, apocryphal Chenghua mark Each painted to the interior with a large rectangular planter issuing branches of pine, bamboo and flowering plum, a smaller planter of orchids to the left, and a hexagonal rockery planter in the foreground, the exterior adorned with luxuriant branches of flowering plum, pine and bamboo, the base with six-character mark within a double circle in underglaze blue, 19.4cm diameter (2). (Import Duty Charged on the Hammer Price) 落槌價徵收進口關稅 Provenance: Christie’s South Kensington, London, 18 May 2021, lot 1179, two from a group of five. Pine, bamboo, and plum are among the most enduring plant motifs in Chinese culture, together known as the “Three Friends of Winter.” Their association rests upon their resilience in the cold: pine and bamboo remain evergreen through winter, while plum blossoms brave the frost and herald the coming spring. From the Song dynasty onwards, the three gradually became more than natural subjects, serving as symbols of the integrity, steadfastness, and moral resolve prized by the literati. The term “Three Friends of Winter” is closely associated with the Northern Song scholar and statesman Su Shi. During his exile in Huangzhou, Su Shi cultivated the land at Dongpo and planted pines, cypresses, bamboo, and plum around his residence, which he named Xue Tang, or “Snow Hall.” According to tradition, when Xu Junyou, the prefect of Huangzhou, visited, he saw the snow scene painted within the hall and playfully asked whether Su Shi felt the cold. Pointing to the plants outside, Su Shi replied, “The wind and spring waters are two bands of music; pine and bamboo, three good friends.” 清康熙 青花「歲寒三友」紋盤，青花楷書「大明成化年製」寄托款 來源：南肯辛頓佳士得，倫敦，2021年5月18日，拍品1179，一組五件中的其中兩件。 松、竹、梅為中國傳統文化中最具代表性的植物意象之一，合稱「歲寒三友」。三者之所以並稱，在於其凌寒而不改其姿：松、竹經冬而常青，梅則凌霜傲雪、先春而發。自宋代以來，松、竹、梅逐漸由自然物象升華為文人寄寓品格與操守的文化象徵，寓意不畏嚴寒、堅貞自守以及處逆境而不改其志的精神。 「歲寒三友」這一特定稱謂的確立，與北宋文豪蘇軾密切相關。蘇軾貶居黃州期間，於東坡躬事耕作，並於居所周圍廣植松、柏、竹、梅等花木，築「雪堂」以居。相傳黃州知州徐君猷訪其居所，見堂中繪有雪景，戲問其居於此間是否覺寒。蘇軾因指窗外花木，以「風泉兩部樂，松竹三益友」相答。風聲、泉聲如兩部清樂，松、竹等花木則如相伴左右的益友，足以遣懷自娛。