Lot 3674. A rare blue and white 'boys' dish, Mark and period of Longqing (1567-1572), 12 cm, 4 3/4  in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,250,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

with shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to an everted rim, the interior decorated with a central medallion enclosing two boys at play, framed by pine trees and rockwork, the exterior with a continuous frieze depicting eight further boys interrupted by shrubs and trees, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double circle

Provenance: Collection of Mr and Mrs R.H.R. Palmer, no. 456.
Christie's Hong Kong, 17th January 1989, lot 579.

Literature: Svenska hem i ord och bilder, Stockholm, 1936. 

Note: Porcelain wares made during the brief six-year reign of the Longqing emperor are known to have followed closely in the style of the preceding Jiajing reign. They were made in small quantity and those which bear the imperial reign mark are even rarer. This Longqing dish, lively painted in underglaze blue with boys motif, appears to be extremely rare, with only one closely related example appears to be know.