A Rare Black-Ground Green-Glazed Saucer Dish. Qianlong Seal Mark In Underglaze Blue And Of The Period (1736-1795). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2011

With rounded sides rising to a slightly everted rim, the center finely painted in 'silhouette reserve' with two butterflies fluttering above tree peony growing amidst rocks, lingzhi and bamboo, within a line border and below a band of pendent ruyi heads, with a broad band of stylized wave and rock pattern on the exterior, all in translucent green glaze reserved on a black ground; 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm.) diam., box  Estimate $25,000 - $35,000

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, London.
Christie's, Hong Kong, 3 December 2008, lot 2581.

Notes: This rare dish belongs to a small group of Qing green and black wares. This style of decoration is unusual in that the design is reserved against black and the whole covered with a transparent green glaze to create a 'silhouette' effect and a lustrous appearance that was difficult to achieve. This unusual technique and palette is an extension of the famille noire decorative style, and is first seen during the Kangxi period. The difficulty of the technique would account for the rarity of pieces produced in the later Yongzheng and Qianlong periods. Yongzheng-marked pieces include a saucer dish and a bottle vase illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pp. 86-7, nos. 206 and 207. Qianlong-marked examples include the large dish sold at Christie's London, 5 June 1995, lot 210, and again at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 10 April 2006, lot 1520.

Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II,  15 - 16 September 2011. New York, Rockefeller Plazza www.christies.com