Cleveland Museum of Art

Plate with Isle of the Immortals

Date: 1723–35
Medium: porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze enamels
Culture: China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Yongzheng mark and reign (1723-35)
Department: Chinese Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

This multicolored dish is decorated with the sacred isle, also seen on the exterior of the blue-and-white dish nearby. A pavilion emerges amid rising and falling waves, a symbol of constant transformation and change. Above the waves are mysterious clouds, symbolizing the cosmic vital energy ( qi ) that animates all things and beings on earth in Daoism. The interior of the dish also shows cranes carrying sticks in their beaks, a motif that symbolizes longevity. Cranes carrying sticks above a pavilion in the sea express the wish “May you live to a ripe old age ( haiwu tianchou ; 海屋添籌).”

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