A blue and white kosometsuke dish. Ming dynasty, Tianqi period (1605-1627).

A blue and white kosometsuke dish. Ming dynasty, Tianqi period (1605-1627). Photo: Sotheby's

painted to the interior with a crouching white hare on a fukizumi 'blown blue' ground, below a rectangular panel enclosing the characters Yu tu (jade hare), encircled by florets and a single line at the rim; 28.8cm., 11 3/8 in. Estimate 2,500—3,500 GBP. Lot Sold  5,250 GBP

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 Nov 10, London www.sothebys.com

NDB: Cf. A pair of blue and white kosometsuke dishes. Tianqi (1605-1627) from the Ove Stenbeck Collection sold in Bonhams,  Fine Chinese Art, 11 Nov 2010 for £1,440

A pair of blue and white kosometsuke dishes. Tianqi (1605-1627) © 2002-2010 Bonhams 1793 Ltd

Each with angled sides flaring to an everted rim with brown-dressed edge, painted at the centre with a crouching white hare against a fukizumi 'blown blue' ground, apocryphal Chenghua six-character marks to base; 14.1cm (5½in) diam. (2). - Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000, HK$ 18,000 - 25,000, USD 2,400 - 3,200 . Sold for £1,440

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.44.

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Compare a similar pair of dishes from the Ira and Nancy Koger collection, sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2006, lot 266.