QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

The ogee-dish form first appeared in the Qianlong period, with its production continuing into subsequent reigns of the Qing dynasty. The cobalt-blue designs on the present lot is painted in the Ming style of heaping and piling, combining Bajixiang, the Eight Buddhist Emblems, bats and sea waves, and the Eight Treasures, a comprehensive representation of good fortune, happiness and longevity. There are few published examples with this very rare combination of auspicious designs. The Bajixiang designs are more commonly found in doucai on Qianlong-marked ogee dishes, including one of similar size featuring the Buddhist emblems, with floral and ruyi borders on the exterior, in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 302.