A rare large Ming-style Blue-and-White dish. Yongzheng six character mark within a double circle and of the period  (1723-1735)

Painted in the central medallion with five large flower-heads issuing from an undulating vine amidst four smaller blooms, the cavetto with a continuous meander of blossoms borne on a leafy vine with interlaced scrolling tendrils, all below a narrow band of classic scroll, the motif repeated on the exterior and set between borders of key fret above and classic-scroll below, all painted in attractive tones of cobalt blue - 13 5/8 in. (34.5 cm.) diam. - Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000

Notes : The design for this dish is inspired by early 15th century examples. Compare the dish illustrated by John A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, DC, 1956, pl. 34, 29.98. Although both the Yongle and Yongzheng examples are similarly decorated in the central medallion and well, the Yongle prototype is much less densely decorated, with fewer leaves and tendrils.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 17 September 2008. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. www.christies.com