Antique Chinese Porcelain Dish Hand-Painted Mandarin Ducks Qianlong, Circa 1770

This gorgeous 18th-century Chinese plate was meticulously hand-painted in the Famille Rose style during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, circa 1770. The center features a delightful scene of two ducks swimming in a pond surrounded by blooming lotus and water plants, all enclosed by a pink diaper band with ‘precious symbols’. The ducks face each other and seem to smile. This plate carries a symbolic message; in Chinese culture, Mandarin ducks are believed to mate for life, symbolizing a happy marriage. In the Qianlong period, this plate would have made a perfect wedding gift, and it still would today! The border showcases the ‘Eight Immortals’, some riding fabulous mythical beasts among spiraling waves and lotus flowers. The colors are painted in exquisite Famille Rose polychrome enamels featuring shades of pink merging into lavender pink and blue shading into light blue and turquoise. Touches of grey, yellow, green, and light brown with gilt are framed by waveforms in bright white. On the reverse of the plate are three traditional iron-red peony sprays. Dimensions: diameter 8.75.” Condition: Excellent Price: $760 Ref: A very similar example was sold at Christie’s, London, European Noble & Private Collections Part II, 17 April 2014, lot 285.