A HIGHLY UNUSUAL AND EXQUISITE PAIR OF WHITE AND FAMILLE-ROSE LOTUS-LEAF INK PALETTES QING DYNASTY, YONGZHENG PERIOD

each delicately hand-modelled out of thin translucent porcelain in the shape of a curled lotus leaf with a short attached stalk, pierced with worm-eaten holes and with veins finely incised on the inside and raised in relief on the outside, one piece plain white, the other elegantly enamelled in famille rose with an insect on the inner rim, two tiny pink buds on top and a small green lotus leaf and further yellow buds twined round the stalk, the bases accented with minute spur marks

Collection of Rose Loo.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16th November 1988, lot 367.

Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, British Museum, London, 1994.
Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. nos 187 and 188.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, nos 965-6.

Apart from a very minute frit on the rim of the enamelled lotus leaf, the overall condition for both pieces is very good.
"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."

This pair of naturalistically modelled lotus leaves is unique and remarkable in its refinement, and must have been created under the tenure of Tang Ying (1682-1756), who served the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors as supervisor of the Qing imperial kilns at Jingdezhen from 1726 until his death, with only one brief interval. One other piece made in the same fashion, probably at the same time, is a palette in form of a wide-open lotus leaf, painted in a similar delicate manner with two small crabs and a stalk of reed; see Terese Tse Bartholomew, 'Botanical Puns in Chinese Art from the Collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Orientations, September 1985, p. 26, fig. 15; with a detail again in Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 2006, no. 4.7.2.