A PAIR OF COPPER-RED GLAZED DISHES MARKS AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

each with shallow rounded sides supported on a gently tapered foot, covered overall with a rich copper-red glaze suffused with tiny bubbles and thinning to white at the rim, the slightly domed base glazed white and inscribed in underglaze-blue with the six-character mark within a double circle

Collection of Dr Cheng Te-k'un (1908-2001), until 1958.
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1958.
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1958 (£48).

One dish (with a '5A' label to the base and illustrated on p. 228) is in overall good condition with minor wear to the centre well as illustrated. The other (with a '5B' label to the base and illustrated on p. 229) is in overall good condition except for a short hairline crack to the rim at around 11 o'clock position, measuring 1.4 cm on the interior and 2 cm on the exterior.
"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."

A closely related dish in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch’ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Tokyo, 1980, vol. 1, pl. 137, together with a slightly smaller example, pl. 138; one in the Nanjing Museum, was included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 40 (top right); another of slightly larger size, from the Sir Percival David collection, and now in the British Museum, London, is included in Margaret Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ch’ing Monochrome, London, 1973, pl. C.505; and a fourth dish from the collection of George Eumorfopoulos, is illustrated in Edgar E. Bluett, Ming and Ch’ing Porcelains, London, 1933, cat. no. 38. A further pair of dishes was sold in our New York rooms, 21st March 1980, lot 220, and again in these rooms, 25th November 1981, lot 363.