Lot 1317. A rare small wucai dish, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) diam. Estimate 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 11,875. © Christie's Image Ltd 2010

Painted on the interior with two birds perched in the branches of a fruiting pomegranate tree above branches of red roses, the reverse painted in underglaze blue with two chilong grasping leafy lingzhi sprays, all within double blue line borders, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: The Yousaian Collection, Japan.

Note: For a nearly identical dish, of slightly larger size, see the example in the Kwan Collection illustrated in Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain: Ceramics from Collectors in the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong/Washington DC, 1993, p. 108, no. 36.