A JUN-TYPE FLAMBÉ-GLAZED DISH, CHINA, 18TH CENTURYOpinion: The beautiful glaze that transitions from a deep purple at the rim to a light blue around the cavetto in very thin, uniform streaks is characteristic of Qianlong-period flambé wares.The shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot to an everted rim. The interior glazed in a deep purplish-red that suffuses to a pale blue, the well with copper-green splashes, some of which have darkened significantly over time. The thick glaze thinning towards the rim to reveal the fine white porcelain. The foot neatly polished.Provenance: From the collection of Dr. Frederick Whiting (1861-1946), mostly assembled before 1930, and thence by descent in the same family. The base with an old label, ‘46’. An 1890 graduate of the University of Vienna, Austria, Dr. Whiting was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the New York Academy of Medicine. He was a recognized collector of American paintings and Chinese porcelains, and a respected author, having written numerous scientific articles as well as a book on surgical techniques titled ‘The Modern Mastoid Operation’.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and firing irregularities original to manufacture. The foot smoothened in some areas, probably inherent to manufacturing, due to the uneven glaze dripping along the foot rim which is expected from this type of ware.Weight: 494.7 gDimensions: Diameter 17.6 cmAlso known as transmutation ware, flambé porcelains came to being thanks to early Imperial interest in the glazes of antiquity. Flambé porcelains are a direct result of Jingdezhen potters’ attempts to re-create the famous Junyao of the Song dynasty. The splashes of metallic blue, purple, and reddish-brown are the results of the transmutation of colloidal copper, iron, or other metallic minerals in the glaze surface. Is it verymon for these wares, being fired in high temperatures, for the glaze to overrun at the base and require grinding after firing.Literatureparison:pare a closely related flambé-glazed dish of similar form and exhibiting the same characteristic streaking to the glaze, 26 cm diameter, also dated to the 18th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number . It is interesting to note that Dr. Whiting was in New York around the time of the Metropolitan’s acquisition of their dish (1891) and may have had a chance to see it during his lifetime.pare a related jun-type lavender-glazed dish, Ming Dynasty, 17.5 cm diameter, dated 1400-1435, in the British Museum, registration number 1936,1012.88.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Christie’s, New York, 18 March 2009, lot 556.Price: USD 134,500 or approx.EUR 170,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A very rare early Ming Jun-type dish, Yongle/Xuande period, first quarter 15th centuryExpert remark: A