Dish, porcelain painted with coloured enamels, Jingdezhen China, Qing dynasty, c.1725-1730

Semi-porcelain scallop dish painted with flowers and other ornament in blue. The form likely derived from European silver.

Purchased from Robert Murdoch Smith, accessioned in 1874. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
This object was purchased in Tehran in 1873, by Robert Murdoch Smith on behalf of the Museum. In his first bulk acquisition for the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A), Murdoch Smith had bought "a considerable collection" of over 1 examples of metalwork, ceramic, inlaid woodwork and textile from different local sources, including French diplomat Emile Charles Bernay and four art-dealers: Nasrullah Dellal, Abu'l-Hassan Dellal, Abdul-Husayn and Reza Kashi of Tehran. Many further acquisitions followed in the years 1873-1878 and 1883-1885, most extensively from the art-dealer Jules Richard, long resident in Tehran. Possibly used for serving pilau.

431A-1874