Sharing with you this lovely little dish (14cm) from the Wanli period. What you see is a classic blue-and-white landscape scene: a rider on horseback (scholar) crosses a bridge toward a secluded pavilion, surrounded by mountains and mist. A quiet moment of travel, transition, and contemplation—capturing the spirit of the scholar’s journey.

It’s a nice piece in general but the most interesting part is at the base. The egret is the only mark to appear exclusively on Kraak wares, with the exception of one dish in the Groninger Museum and a similar one in the Topkapi Saray Museum (see pictures also). This particular piece is 1 of 7 known of this type and size.

The egret mark poses an interesting problem in dating. Because it mostly appears on pieces of better than average quality, it is commonly accepted that pieces bearing this mark were produced in one particular kiln.

One important tool to establish a dating for these pieces is the egret itself which, as time goes by, changes drastically (see pictures). In early specimens the egret is tall and slender, its body placed almost in a vertical line. At times his beak is open, at others closed. Two circles drawn at the end of the legs probably represent a whirl around the legs created by the shallow water in movement (see pictures also of a piece we owned before). In the second specimen a remarkable deterioration can be seen with the body of the bird becoming hunched and rounded and the disappearance of water-whirls around the neck (like ours). In the third example the bird has become so stylized that it is almost meaningless.

With thanks to Rinaldi for the research on egret marks.

Please enjoy!

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