A yellow and blue Ming-style 'lotus bouquet' dish, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795)
Lot 264. A yellow and blue Ming-style 'lotus bouquet' dish, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795). Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's
the rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a slightly everted lipped rim, well-painted in underglaze cobalt blue against a bright yellow-enameled ground, the interior with a ribboned bouquet of lotus and other water plants, surrounded on the sides by a composite floral scroll, all below a classic scroll border at the rim, the exterior with a composite flower scroll between a band of keyfret and stylized scrollwork, the yellow-enameled base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark within a white square panel - Diameter 8 3/8 in., 21.3 cm
Provenance: Collection of T. Contella (1896-1996), Washington D.C., acquired in the 1930s.
Notes: First produced in blue and white during the Yongle period, 'lotus bouquet' dishes were made by the imperial kilns of subsequent reigns. The yellow and blue palette was also a Ming dynasty innovation first appearing during the famed Xuande period. The striking combination of the two came to fruition during the reign of the Yongzheng emperor and continued its popularity into the Qianlong period. A Qianlong period imperial dish of similar size and design from the Meiyintang Collection was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 16.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM