A RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'LOTUS' DISH MING DYNASTY, YONGLE PERIOD

well potted with gently curving sides, finely painted in vivid tones of underglaze-blue with characteristic 'heaping and piling', decorated to the interior with a central medallion enclosing five large lotus blooms emitting intertwining leafy stems within triple line borders, surrounded in the cavetto by a continuous lotus meander beneath a classic scroll band at the lip, with a similar chrysanthemum scroll on the exterior between a classic scroll around the foot and a keyfret band at the rim 

A Private Japanese Collection.

The dish is slightly warped. Otherwise the dish is generally in good condition overall. There are light surface scratches to the interior, and stained pinprick burst air bubbles and ironspots to the rim.
"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 design but of this small size are rare.  Compare dishes of similar decoration, but of slightly larger size; one in the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Mingdai chunian ciqi tezhan, Taipei, 1982, cat.no. 40; another illustrated in Chinese Arts of the Ming and Ch'ing Periods, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1963, cat.no. 283; and two from the Ardabil Shrine collection, now in the Archaeological Museum, Tehran, illustrated in John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pl.34; and in T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East, Hong Kong, 1981, vol.III, no.A38. Compare also a dish of similar decoration sold in these rooms, 25th April 2004, lot 290.