A PAIR OF FAMILLE-VERTE 'ELEGANT BEAUTIES' DISHES QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD |

each resting on a tapered foot rising to curved steep sides, the interior well-painted with an informal domestic scene of two aristocratic ladies, the first with one figure reclining on a daybed smiling and her laughing confidant playfully tugging at the sash around her waist, the other depicting the same ladies with one seated on a stool resting one arm along the edge of a rustic trunk-form stand, gazing at her companion standing behind with one hand resting atop her shoulder, a large recessed leg table in the background bearing a vase with coral, a teapot and cup, a tray of food, a book and other luxurious objects (2)

John Sparks Ltd., London.
Collection of Sidney T. Cook (1910-1964), and thence by descent. 

One dish with a polished rim and very minor expected wear to the surface. The other dish with minor frits and one small chip to the rim, light polishing to sections of the rim, and very minor expected wear to the surface.
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Paintings of elegant women in intimate settings form a distinctive group among domestic genre scenes.  James Cahill suggests that these informal depictions of intimates were produced to appeal to women consumers.  Cahill describes and illustrates a 17th century eight-leaf album, each leaf centering on the close friendship between the same two elegantly attired ladies. It seems likely that such paintings influenced the artisans at Jingdezhen who painted similar subjects on porcelain. For more on this subject see James Cahill, Pictures for Use and Pleasure, Vernacular Painting in High Qing China, Berkeley, 2010, pp. 124-129.