Lot 3592. A rare large late Ming wucai dish, Wanli six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1573-1619); 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price Realized HKD 3,140,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

Finely painted in a brilliant palette on the interior with Shoulao seated on a rock beside an attendant being greeted by the Eight Immortals, Baxian, in a rocky landscape with gnarled pine branches and lingzhi, the cavetto decorated with a scroll of ruyi-clouds supporting Shou characters, the exterior with detached floral sprays above a leafy scroll band at the foot, box.

Provenance: Previously sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27 April 1999, lot 414.

Note: It is rare to find a large Wanli dish with such a detailed design of Immortals in landscape. Shoulao symbolises longevity, and so do the Eight Immortals. Comparable dishes include one of similar size and design in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by D. Lion-Goldschmidt, La Porcelain Ming, Fribourg, 1978, p. 186, pl. 193; another one from the J. M. Hu Family Collection, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 4 June 1985, lot 14; and another was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 6 November 1997, lot 1053. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale,  Hong Kong, 1 June 2011