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

the shallow rounded sides rising from a flat base and a tapered foot, well painted on the interior in deep cobalt blue with a lotus bouquet of flowers, buds, leaves and a pod tied together with arrow-head and other water plants, encircled on the cavetto with a composite flower scroll of camellia, hibiscus, pomegranate, tree peony, rose, lotus and chrysanthemum, all repeated twice except the pomegranate, all below a band of 'classic' scroll around the mouth, the exterior with a similar composite scroll of flowers  between a band of key-fret at the mouth and 'classic' scroll above the foot, the base left unglazed 

Christie's London, 4th June 1973, lot 106.

S.T. Yeo and Jean Martin, Chinese Blue and White Ceramics, Singapore, 1978, p. 84 bottom, fig. 29.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 665.

The overall condition is very good with just light scratches and wear to the interior. There are a few minor pin pricks on 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."

The lotus-bouquet motif, with its unexpected combination of lotus flowers, leaves and water weeds, tied with a ribbon and evoking strikingly coloured lotus ponds in full bloom during summer, became very popular in the Yongle period. Dishes of this small size, typically more finely painted than the larger version, are, however, comparatively rare. Of thirty-four lotus-bouquet dishes recorded from the Ardabil Shrine in Iran, only three are of this small size, two of them with wave rim borders and one probably of the present type; see John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pls 30 and 31, nos. 29.16, 17, and 32. Compare also a similar dish from the Greenwald collection, recently sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1st December 2010, lot 2803.

The design was revived again by the imperial kilns during the Yongzheng (AD 1723-35) and Qianlong (AD 1736-95) periods of the Qing dynasty; compare three revival dishes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue-and-white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. II, pls. 195, 199, and 203.