YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

The lingzhi fungus is among the most popular motifs in Chinese art, signifying longevity. Considered the food of the immortals, lingzhi is also a wish-granting symbol as its form is related to the ruyi scepter. A similar Yongzheng-marked dish is illustrated by I. L. Legeza in Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese Ceramics in the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology School of Oriental Studies University of Durham, London, 1972, pl. XXXVII, no. 115. Another Yongzheng-marked celadon-glazed dish of comparable size with similar lingzhi design on the exterior, but the interior and base left white, was sold in Marchant – Fifty Qing Imperial Porcelains, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 11 July 2020, lot 3101.