Lot 912. A rare purple-enameled 'chrysanthemum' dish, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735); 17.5 cm diam., cloth box. Price realised USD 604,800 (Estimate: USD 200,000 – USD 300,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023.

The dish has rounded sides that are molded as chrysanthemum petals rising from the foot ring with corresponding notches to the scalloped rim. It is covered overall with a reddish-purple enamel that surrounds the circular reserve for the mark on the base.

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 3 November 1998, lot 926.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4680.

Note: Chrysanthemum-form porcelain dishes, reviving a Song dynasty lacquer shape, were produced in twelve different colors during the Yongzheng period. See the note to the previous lot in this catalogue for the origins of this imperial order. The dark purple enamel seen on this dish is rare, however, a similar example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in China. The Three Emperors 1662 – 1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005-6, cat. no. 172 (second row, left)

A rare complete set of Yongzheng chrysanthemum dishes in the twelve different colors is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong: Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 316, no. 145.

Christie's. J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 23 march 2023