A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE 'QILIN' DISH

SHUNZHI 1644-61

Painted with the scaly mythical beast with its front right leg raised and its head turned towards the sky, it sits in a landscape with a plantain tree and rocks in the background, the underside decorated with three precious objects, the base with a four character mark reading Zhi Lan Zhai zhi, with a paper label for Robert McPherson, London, 28.5cm.

Provenance: from a British private collection, purchased from Stockspring Antiques, London, on 18th November 1998. A copy of the invoice is available.

Cf. R Chen, Qing Shunzhi Kangxi Chao Qinghua Ci (Qing Dynasty Shunzhi and Kangxi Blue and White Porcelain), pp.44-45, no.20 for another Shunzhi dish with this design in the collection of the Palace Museum; see also Sotheby's New York, 19th March 2019, lot 312 for another comparable piece.