Lot 436. A pair of Famille-Verte square dishes, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period. Width 5 1/4 in., 13.3 cm; Depth 5 1/4 in., 13.3 cm. Estimation 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

the shallow sides rising to flat rims, all resting on low, wide conforming foot, both painted on the biscuit, one with a butterfly and grasshopper above pierced rockwork, large leaves and flowering plants, the other with seven fish swimming in a lotus pond amongst flowers and leaves, the exteriors with various floral sprays, the bases with four-character marks of Yu Hai Tang zhi, 'made for the Hall of the Jade Sea' in black enamel within a double square (2). 

Provenance: Collection of S.E. Kennedy (1855-1933), London.

Note: A similar pair of dishes each with insects and rockwork, with different sized marks, is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Chinese Ceramics vol. 4, Geneva, 1968-1974, no. A549-550 and again in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, no. 153-154, p. 29.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com