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San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown.
Dish
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown.
Contact San Antonio Museum of Art, Registrar Department for rights and reproduction of this image. Photography by Peggy Tenison.

Dish

DepartmentAsian Art
CultureChinese
Date14th century
MediumPorcelain with cobalt blue underglaze
Dimensionsdiam. 18 1/8 in. (46 cm)
h. 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm)
Credit LineSan Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown
Object number2008.21.30
Geography
Place madeJingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China, Asia
DescriptionThe central decoration on this charger is a pair of mandarin ducks, which are said to mate for life, swimming in a lotus pond. The drake is shown swimming ahead of its mate, but turning his head back toward her. A band of scrolling chrysanthemums encircles the central motif, while a diamond border pattern embellishes the outer rim. This subject is popular in Chinese art as it expresses a wish for lasting marital love, making it an appropriate wedding gift.Exhibition HistorySan Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Legacy of Beauty: An Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics in Honor of Walter F. Brown, 2014Published ReferencesJ. Powers, ed., Still Brewing Art: Making the San Antonio Museum of Art (San Antonio: San Antonio Museum of Art, 2025), fig. 35.InscriptionsPersian inscription in nasta'liq script on the exterior of the inversted foot ring, which reads 'Shah Jahan ibn Jahangir Shah," and a date, 1043, which corresponds to 1633-1634.
On view
Collections
San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Bessie Timon Endowment.
Plate
Culture: Vietnamese
15th to 16th century
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Ricardo and Harriett Romo.
Amigos de la Granja Nadando El Rio Grande (Farmyard Friends Swimming the Big River)
Michael Menchaca
2012
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Amphora (jar)
Culture: Greek
8th century B.C.
San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Bessie Timon Endowment Fund and…
Summer Robe
Culture: Chinese
19th century
Image Not Available for Figure with Elongated Head
Figure with Elongated Head
Unknown
Culture: Colima
ca. 200 B.C.-A.D. 250
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown.
Vase Decorated with Four Scholars
Culture: Chinese
1572-1620
Purchased with funds provided by the Bessie Timon Endowment.
Rooster and Hen
Hara Zaichu
Culture: Japanese
ca. 1820
San Antonio Museum of Art, The Robert K. Winn Collection
Jicara bowl
Unknown
ca. 1960
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown.
Moon Flask
Culture: Chinese
1735-1796
Gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown.
Covered Jar
Culture: Chinese
1661-1722
Purchased with funds from the Hearst Foundation.
Interior of a Miner's Shack, Scott's Run outside of Morgantown, West Viginia
Walker Evans
July 1935, printed later
San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with funds provided by Friends of Contemporary Art
love seat
Sarah Cain
2015

The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.

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