QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795), DATED TO THE 28TH YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1763

This unusual dish appears to be a sample dish for testing various glazes being produced during the Qianlong reign, and incorporates a date corresponding to the 28th year of Qianlong (1763). It is noted in the iscription that the present dish is number '142' in the wu series. A similar eight-character mark appears on a blue and white 'sample' dish dated to the 6th year of the Qianlong reign, in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Ch'ing Official and Popular Wares, Taipei, 1991, p. 33.