A RARE PAIR OF BLUE AND WHITE 'LOTUS BOUQUET' DISHES SEAL MARKS AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG |

each with gently rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to a slightly everted rim, painted in rich cobalt-blue tones to the interior with a roundel enclosing a ribboned bouquet of lotus flowers, aquatic plants and a lotus pod, encircled by three concentric rings, the cavetto and the exterior painted with seven alternating flowerheads amidst scrolling foliage, all below a classic scroll band, inscribed to the base with a six-character seal mark

Collection of Dr Vincent Squilla (1925-2017).

The dishes are in good conditioin. There is an approx. 0.9 cm strip of wear/light polish to the interior of the left dish and a ring of scratches around its mark.
"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 of this small size, painted with this elegant motif of a luxuriant lotus bouquet and the well undecorated are more commonly known with a Yongzheng mark and of the period, such as a dish in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Special Exhibition of K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 32; a pair sold twice in our New York rooms, 11th May 1978, lot 288 and 5th May 1979, lot 5; and a dish sold in these rooms, 8th November 1982, lot 156. The bouquet, with its beribboned cluster of lotus blooms, leaves and water weeds, first appeared on blue and white porcelain in the Yongle period and was revived in the early Qing dynasty. A Yongle dish painted with this design, and with a flower scroll on the cavetto, from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, pl. 665, was sold in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 37.