White porcelain bowl with polychrome enamel decoration of yo - Lot 62

White porcelain bowl with polychrome enamel decoration of young women in a boat, China, Minguo period, Republic period (1912-1949) On a white sgraffito background incised with waves, the bowl is decorated in polychrome with a scene showing a boat carved from a trunk and featuring three young women, one seated and holding a lingzhi (mushroom of longevity) to a second holding a long bottle probably containing the elixir of eternity, while the third is driving the boat. The decoration continues to the right with a palace near a pine tree in clouds. According to legend, this is the palace of Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, located on Mount Kunlun and also known as the Taoist Paradise. In the sky, a red-headed crane in flight, carrying a scroll in its beak. The various subjects such as the lingzhi, the palace, the pine tree and the crane decorating this bowl are all symbols of longevity in Taoist philosophy. The bottom of the bowl is glazed in turquoise blue and bears an apocryphal Jiaqing mark in zhuanshu. Diameter: 17 cm