Lot 205. A rare Ming-style blue and white and copper-red barbed-rim dish, Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-1795), 37.5cm (14 3/4in) diam. Estimate £12,000 - 15,000 (€14,000 - 18,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Painted in copper-red with flowering peony and lingzhi fungus issuing from blue branches and a grassy clump, all within double circles beneath four floral sprays at the cavetto, the rim with further lingzhi and meandering floral scrolls. 

Provenance: Christie's London, 21 March 1988, lot 59
An English private collection, and thence by descent

Note: Inspired by the classical shapes and decorative designs of the Ming dynasty, the present dish attests to the creativity of Qing potters during the Qianlong period. The 'heaped-and-piled' technique, characterised by the inky cobalt blue which fired to a dark, deep blue in parts, heightening the three-dimensional quality of the design, was a feature of early Ming blue and white wares, as was the use of separate floral sprays, instead of the continuous scroll, in the cavetto, and clearly inspired 18th century potters.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 11 May 2017, 11:00 BST, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET