Lot 653. A large 'Longquan' celadon 'lotus' dish, Ming dynasty, 16th century. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's 

robustly potted, with rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a broad everted rim, the interior boldly carved with a single lotus medallion, with three scrolling vines at the rim, covered overall with a rich even olive-green glaze, the base with a burnt-orange unglazed ring. Diameter 17 1/2  in., 44.5 cm. 

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 14th May 2008, lot 539.

Note: The thickly applied jade-like glaze of the 'Longquan' wares has been much admired and sought after since the fifth and sixth centuries in China. However, vessels of this large size and incised decoration began in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasty, signaling a change in the decorative strategies of 'Longquan' wares that corresponded to new foreign influences and increased export demand for wares of this type. 'Longquan' wares were exported to the Middle East and became essential vessels in the large communal banquets held by royalty, such as the Ottoman sultanate in Istanbul. Examples of these large dishes with everted rims and central motifs of incised flowers in the collection of the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, are illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, vol. 1, London, 1986, pls 429-436.

A dish of this type in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the exhibition Green Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2011, cat. no. 36.

Closely related examples include a large dish from the collection of J. C. Thomson, which sold in our London rooms, 15th June 1982, lot 86; one from the Edward T. Chow collection, also sold in the same rooms, 7th June 1994, lot 324; and a dish from the collection of John F. Lewis, Jr., sold in these rooms, 15th September 2015, lot 4.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art New York, 15 Mar 2017