Chinese Porcelain Plate Thousand Flowers Design Mille Fleur Motif- Gold- Marked.

beautiful one of a kind plate decorated in 18th century motifs with an all-over pattern of peony and other flowers with grapes and pomegranates on a gold ground. The mille fleur motif is the background for the plate. Meaning the

"thousand flowers design", the mille fleur motif, usually on a gilt ground, first appeared in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), becoming extremely popular during the Qianlong reign (1735-1796)

The Double Ram Centred by a Vase within a square

mark appears to be the Yang Chen Brand and is mid-

century.

In "Marks" by William Chaffers there are illustrated a number of animal marks dating roughly from the later Ming dynasty (16th/17th century) through to the 18th century. The point of the animals is that they are considered auspicious, & so "bringers of good to the owners of such wares."

The plate is 13.5 cm (8.5 inches) by 13.5 cm (8,5 inches) and is 2.5 cm (1 inch) high.