Lot 921. A small blue-glazed dish, Yongzheng four-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1735); 5½ in. (14 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 18,000 - USD 25,000. Price realised USD 18,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014 

Thickly potted with shallow rounded sides that rise to a flat, everted rim, the dish is covered overall with a glaze of rich cobalt blue that thins to white on the edge of the rim.

Note: Compare the Yongzheng-marked dish of the same size and unusual shape, the sides encircled by a subtle bow-string band, but covered with a dark blue glaze, sold at Sotheby's London, 11 May 2011, lot 243.

Stoutly potted dishes of this type were intended to serve as trays for small flower jardinières or flower pots. See, for example, the Yonzheng-marked teadust-glazed jardinière and stand sold in these rooms, 20 March 2001, lot 274, and the Yongzheng-marked red-glazed flower pot and tray illustrated in Catalog of the Special Exhibition of K'ang-Hsi, Yung-Cheng and Ch'ien-Lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, p. 72, no. 35. See, also, a similar Yongzheng-marked 'sky-blue'-glazed dish of similar shape and size sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2014, lot 1540.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 18 – 19 September 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza