151. A RARE FAMILLE ROSE RUBY-BACK 'BUTTERFLY AND FLOWERS' SAUCER DISH Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period Finely painted in bright enamels with a cluster of small flowers nestling amongst leaves, two butterflies in flight depicted in shades of grisaille with finely stippled and shaded wings and naturalistic legs, feelers and bodies, the reverse enamelled in a vibrant ruby-red of crushed-raspberry tone, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue, the famille rose enamels possibly later added. 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.) diam. Provenance: Acquired from Bernheimer, Munich, 22 April 1980. Formerly Christian von Reitzenstein collection. The colour of the pink enamel on the back of this dish was originally introduced under the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) when the artisans in the imperial workshops making glass and enamel wares succeeded in creating the colour rose pink copying the recipe employed by European artisans which involved a mixture of fine gold particles, stannous and stannic chlorides with alkali and tin. Chinese artisans perfected pink enamel by grinding ruby glass and dispersing it in a clear, colourless enamel making it easier to apply the enamel evenly on a surface and achieving an even tone in the firing. Few ruby-glazed and ruby-backed dishes and cups made under the Kangxi emperor survive, and the pink colour and glaze was perfected under the Yongzheng emperor (1722-1735) quickly gaining in popularity. Ruby-backed porcelains with Qianlong marks are rare. It appears that only one other ruby-backed famille rose dish decorated with a European subject and inscribed with a Qianlong seal mark is known, formerly in the collection of E.T.Chow, sold Christie's Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 3029.