A Blue And White 'Three Friends' Dish. Qianlong Seal Mark And Period. Photo Sotheby's

finely potted and painted in rich and varying cobalt tones, the interior with leafy bamboo emerging from behind a jagged rock flanked by a tall knotty pine and a gnarled blossoming prunus tree, the underside with an elegant pavilion scene of a seated lady and two young boys at play amidst further foliage. Diameter 7 1/8 in., 18.1 cm. Estimate 15,000-25,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Sotheby's New York, 25th October 1975, lot 205.

Sotheby's New York, 4th June 1982, lot 256.

Property From An Important Asian Collection

NOTE: A dish of this pattern is illustrated by Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1971, pl. XCV and another by Yeo and Martin, Chinese Blue and White Ceramics, Vermont, 1978, pl. 163, no. 300.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York. 14 september 2011 www.sothebys.com