QIANLONG RUBY-ENAMELLED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK WITHIN DOUBLE SQUARES AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

The delightful scene depicted on this dish is reminiscent of the renowned Barbara Hutton famille rose dishes from the Yongzheng period, also masterfully painted with a pair of quails resting at leisure amongst rocks and flowers on a verdant ground. The pair of porcelain dishes and the current metal dish share the same characteristic of being consummately enamelled with great attention paid to every detail, seen particularly in the finely delineated quail feathers and gracefully shaded flower petals. The Barbara Hutton dishes were sold at Sotheby's London, 8 July 1974, lot 411.

Quail in Chinese bears the character an, which is a pun for 'peace', while chrysanthemum bears the character ju, a pun for 'dwell'. Hence the combination of quails and chrysanthemum on this dish provides the rebus anju, 'May you dwell in peace'.