Lot 110. A large Safavid blue and white pottery dish, Iran, late 17th or early 18th century. Estimate £4,000 – £6,000 ($5,688 - $8,532). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016

Rising from short foot through wide gently curved sides to rim, the white ground painted in cobalt-blue, with a roundel of floral ground inhabited by three white birds, bordered by a band of strapwork, the cavetto with interlocking palmettes with a gul-o bulbul design, the exterior with a Chinese style design of scrolling vine issuing palmettes, the underside of the foot with a stylised Chinese mark, intact; 18¼in. (46.5cm.) diam

Note: A large blue and white Safavid dish with a similar dense floral design is attributed by Yolande Crowe to the late 17th or early 18th century. She suggests that the design is of Japanese origin (Yolande Crowe, Persia and China. Safavid Blue and White Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum 1501-1738, London, 2002, no.391, p.38). 

Plate, fritware painted in underglaze blue, Iran, 16th or 17th century. Diameter: 25.4 cm. Museum number: 2731-1876. © V&A Images.

Christie's. ART OF THE ISLAMIC & INDIAN WORLDS, 21 April 2016, London, King Street