19 cm. （7 1/2 in.） wide

Finely carved and stained ivory shallow dishes decorated with such intricate workmanship are at a level attributed to the Imperial artisans of the Qing Court, and are used primarily as scholarly objects in studies, which include brushes, brush rests, brushpots, brush washers, water droppers, ink stones, ink palette and ink cakes.

Compare a collection of naturalistic objects of virtu, in particular an ink palette featured as the frontispiece of the publication （accession no.lv206236 /gudiao177 /yuan1971） and a dish （accession no.lu8568 /gudiao57 /yuan1927）, both worked from carved and stained ivory dated to early/mid Qing dynasty, in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Chi Jo-hsin, Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial Feats： The Carvings of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn, Taipei, 2010, pp.59-63, nos.15 and 16.

Compare a related carved ivory and stained dish decorated with sunflowers dated to the Mid Qing dynasty, probably attributed to the 5th year of the Yongzheng reign corresponding to the year 1727, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Shanghai, 2001, p.202, no.166； and another decorated with melons and butterflies also in the collection of the Palace Museum, illustrated in Small Refined Articles of the Study. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Shanghai, 2009, p.128, no.99.

Price estimate:
HKD: 250, 000 - 350, 000
USD: 32, 100 - 44, 900

Auction Result:
HKD: --