A SMALL 'FAMILLE-ROSE' RUBY-GROUND 'CHRYSANTHEMUM' DISH YONGZHENG MARK AND PERIOD

the round shallow sides rising from a short tapering foot, decorated in the famille-rose palette with flowering branches of chrysanthemum reserved on a ruby-red ground, the interior left plain, inscribed to the base with a four-character Yongzheng mark within a double-square with canted corners

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th November 1996, lot 877.

The dish is in excellent condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Dishes enamelled with this charming design are rare; a closely related example was included in the Special Exhibition of Enamelled Painted Wares of the Ch'ing Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1979, cat. no. 55; two were sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29^th October 2001, lot 591, and 22^nd May 1988, lot 195; and a fourth example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 20^th March 1990, lot 638. See also a slightly smaller example sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29^th October 1991, lot 247.

Compare Yongzheng mark and period dishes of this type and size but painted with various plants on coloured grounds, such as two depicting prunus blossoms included in the National Palace Museum exhibition, op. cit., cat. nos 54 and 57, one on a blue ground, the other on a ruby ground; and a dish enamelled with bamboo on a lilac ground, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., published in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command. An Introduction to Ch'ing Imperial Painted Enamels, Hong Kong, 1976, pl. 57.