A fine lemon-yellow enamelled saucer dish, Mark and period of Yongzheng

John Sparks Ltd., London (by family tradition).

Deceptively simple in form and colour, lemon-yellow wares rank among the most technically demanding porcelains, requiring flawless potting, glazing and firing. Yellow is the only monochrome glaze directly associated with imperial power: while earlier yellow-glazed wares were reserved for ritual use, the Yongzheng emperor introduced the lemon-yellow glaze as an elegant alternative for daily court use. Achieved by combining antimoniate of iron with tin oxide, this innovation produced the brilliant translucent hue seen on the present piece.

Compare a pair from the Sir Percival David Collection, preserved in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Margaret Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ch'ing Monochrome in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1973, cat. nos B543-B544. See also an extremely fine pair from Marchant sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29th April 2022, lot 3509; and another pair sold at Christie’s London, 14th May 2019, lot 164.