AT14
Further images
Of octagonal form, richly decorated in bright overglaze enamels highlighted with gilding, the centre with two finely enamelled pheasants, one, its wings outstretched, hovering above a lotus tree, the other perched upon a flowering peony branch, its mouth open, attempting to snatch a near-by flying insect, in the centre foreground four full-blown peonies in full bloom, the leaves realistically delineated, some of the green leaves tipped with autumnal yellow, all issuing from a grassy knoll, in the sky to the left a moth hovers, the border with four cartouches two with crabs facing each other and two with crayfish and foliage reserved on a flower strewn green seeded ground inside a gilded piecrust edge and an iron red band of pendant ju- i heads.
Literature
For a similar dish, see the full page illustration on page 18 of "Chinese Export Art in the Hermitage Museum: Late 16th - 19th centuries", St Petersburg 2003 and the discussion and further illustration, plate 13, page 26. For another octagonal piecrust dish see"Fran Kina till Europa - Kinesiska konstforemal fran de ostindiska kompaniernas tid",Jan Wirgin, Ostasiatiska Museet, Stockholm, 1998, p. 60, pl. 56, also, for a circular dish, see Anita Gray's website, stock number V26.
