Lot 526. A doucai saucer dish, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795). Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 25,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's. 

with a shallow rounded form, the interior enameled in a rich doucai palette with two cranes carrying tallies in their beaks soaring amid auspicious clouds above a pavilion rising from crested waves, along the rim a band of ruyi heads, the exterior vibrantly painted with bats, peaches, and lotus scroll, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue. Diameter 6 1/4  in., 15.9 cm

Note: The motif of a crane carrying a counter over a seaborne pavilion is a rebus expressing a wish for longevity (haiwu tianchou). Thematic precedents in porcelain date to the Yongzheng period, including a dish illustrated in the revised Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, pl. 191. Qianlong era doucai saucer dishes with this motif sold at Christie's New York, 13th/14th September 2012, lot 2580; and thrice in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th November 1989, lot 232; 18th May 1982, lot 372; and 20th May 1981, lot 828.

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