Deep 'U'-shape, supported on a short foot, decorated around the exterior with a parade of auspicious animals and deities of the qi zheng bao ('Seven Treasures'), each set on a lotus flower within a mandorla above the sea, below alternating gold animal masks suspending tassels and between bands of the bajixiang ('Eight Buddhist Emblems') in iron-red divided by shou characters at the foot and rim, the interior with a lotus medallion centred with a vajra motif, the white base inscribed with an iron-red 'Baragon Tumed' mark in Mongolian script. Height 6,6 cm. Diameter 9 cm.
Wear.
Property from a Swedish Private Collection.
The 'Baragon Tumed' mark on the base identifies the bowl as part of a service made at the imperial factories to celebrate the marriage of one of the Daoguang emperor's daughters to a Mongolian prince of the Tumed Banner in 1842.
Compare a dish from this service at the British Museum, inventory no Franks.1689. Donated by: Sir Augustus Wollaston Frank
Compare; Sothebys, Echoes of Fragrance – Evolution of Tea Culture from the Tang to the Qing Dynasties 16 December 2021. Lot 5059.