An identical dish from the Baur collection is illustrated by Beurdeley and Raindre, Qing Porcelain, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, no. 224, p. 161, where the authors explain that the dish is clearly inspired by Song lacquer work highly revered by Emperor Qianlong. This clearly reverberates through the inscribed poem, allegedly composed and written by the Emperor himself, in praise of incomparable Wu craftmanship. The Wu area, in present day Suzhou, was renowned for the production of beautifully carved lacquer works during the Song period, as indicated in the poem.

As porcelain often imitated shapes from other media, it is worth noting an example related to this chrysanthemum dish in the Palace Museum, Bejing, made of red lacquer also dated to the jia wu year of Qianlong, illustrated in Chongguo Meishu Quanji, Works of Art, vol. 8, Lacquer, no. 178. Both versions were commissioned by the Emperor in enthusiastic appreciation of early lacquer wares.

For a further comparison of the same form, cf. similar covered bowls and saucer dishes in both red lacquer and porcelain from the Palace Museum collection. The lacquer wares are illustrated by Weng and Yang, Treasures from the Forbidden City, no.174, with a poem composed by Qianlong praising the chrysanthemum bowl with a cyclical date of 1776 as being lighter than the flower it imitates. The other covered bowl and dish are illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, no. 102, p. 420.

(US$13,000-20,000)