Lot 1730. Two famille verte and iron-red-decorated 'Birthday' dishes, Kangxi six-character marks in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1662-1722); 7 9/16 in. (19.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 40,000. Price realised USD 194,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.  

Each of shallow form, finely decorated in the interior with a similar design of Shoulao holding a ruyi scepter while seated on a green and yellow mat beside a recumbent deer and bundle of wrapped scrolls, his attendant to one side tending to an incense burner set atop a rootwood stand, the everted rim painted in iron red with a design of the 'hundred' bats.

Provenance: Chait Galleries, New York.

Note: Dishes of this type made during the Kangxi period are known as 'birthday' dishes, as they are thought to have been made in sets to celebrate the 60th birthday of the emperor Kangxi in 1713. According to Rosemary Scott, For the Imperial Court: Qing Porcelain from the Percival David Foundation, London, 1997, p. 48, it seems unlikely that these dishes were actually used during the imperial birthday celebrations, but were probably presented to guests as a gift.