A blue and white dish, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566). Estimate $8,000 – $12,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015.

The dish has flared, rounded sides, and is decorated in the somewhat concave center of the interior with five deer in a landscape setting in which a turtle is seen swimming below a waterfall that cascades from the rocks above. On the exterior are three vignettes depicting pairs of birds perched in a fruiting peach tree below a double-line border and above a band of classic scroll on the foot. 13½ in. (34.3 cm.) diam.

Provenance: Acquired in the United States in the early 20th century, and thence by descent within the family.

Note: Compare the Jiajing-marked blue and white dish of this pattern illustrated in Transitional Wares and Their Forerunners, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 62, no. 1.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza