A small blue-glazed jardinière stand, Yongzheng four-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1735). Estimate $15,000 – $25,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

Thickly potted with shallow rounded sides that rise to a flat, everted rim, the dish is covered overall with a glaze of rich cobalt blue that thins to white on the outer edge of the rim. 5 ½ in. (14 cm.) diam.

Notes: Stoutly potted dishes of this type were intended to serve as stands for small jardinières or flower pots. See, for example, the Yonzheng-marked tea-dust-glazed jardinière and stand sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2001, lot 274, and the Yongzheng-marked, red-glazed flower pot and stand illustrated in Catalog of the Special Exhibition of K'ang-Hsi, Yung-Cheng and Ch'ien-Lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, p. 72, no. 35. See, also, a similar Yongzheng-marked 'sky-blue'-glazed stand of similar shape and size sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2014, lot 1540.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza