A small Ming-style blue and white dish. Qianlong seal mark and period

Delicately potted with shallow curved sides rising from a short foot, painted in underglaze blue with an interior central medallion with three rings enclosing a ribbon-tied lotus bouquet, the flowers and flowing stems imbued with energetic movement, the interior and exterior sides with composite scrolling flowerheads, below a thin classic scroll border to the interior and a keyfret band on the exterior - diameter 6 1/8 in., 15.6 cm - Estimate : 6,000—8,000 USD

Note: The style of the decoration of the present dish was influenced by 15th century Ming examples, and a prototype for this design is illustrated in John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981, pl. 31. A unique stylistic feature of this dish is the pair of curling stems appearing below the ribbon of the bouquet. Only three dishes with this distinctive feature, all Qianlong seal mark and period, appear to have been sold at auction. One from the R.I.C. Herridge Collection was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 26th November 1980, lot 274; another in these rooms, 8th May 1980, lot 283; and the third in our Hong Kong rooms, 21st May 1984, lot 105.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art including Chinese and Japanese Art from The Collection of Frieda and Milton Rosenthal. 16 Sep 08. www.sotheby's.com