Lot 1474. An unusual blue and white dish, Jiajing-Wanli period (1522-1619); 13¾ in. (35 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 10,000. Price realised USD 10,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Painted in inky tones of underglaze blue in the interior with an elephant and lion confronted on either side of the trunk of a tall tree, below striding dragons interspersed with Daoist trigrams in the cavetto, the reverse with six floral roundels separated by small clouds, the base with four-character mark in a square reading fu gui jia qi (beautiful vessel for the rich and honorable).

Provenance: Dragon House, San Francisco.

Note: A blue and white dish of the same size with closely related decoration is in the Ardebil Shrine, illustrated by J. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, 1956, pl. 91, where it is dated to the late 16th century. A larger (42.5 cm.) blue and white dish, also with similar decoration, was sold Sotheby's, London, 13 May 2009, lot 182. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York