25. A Cantonese export porcelain punch bowl and dish made for Haji Muhammad Bushehri China, dated AH 1309/ AD 1891–1892 the bowl of deep rounded form and the dish of shallow form, each decorated in polychrome and gilt with courtly scenes and floral sprays intermingled with butterflies, inscription in nasta'liq to exterior wall of bowl the plate 27.5 cm. diam.; the bowl 23 cm. diam.(2) Inscriptions: farmayesh-e jenab-e mu'in al-tujjar 1309, 'Commission of His Honour Mu'in al-Tujjar 1309 (1891-2)'. Muhammad 'Ali Bushehri Mu'in al-Tujjar (1859-1933) was a prominent political and mercantile figure in the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods. Such figural scenes typify the 'Mandarin design' that permeated Ming and Qing ceramic production. Described as 'imaginary court panoplies', these scenes are drawn from operatic traditions and include classical 'Han' Chinese characters. For further discussion, see Daniel Nadler, China to Order: Focussing on the XIXth Century and Surveying Polychrome Export Porcelain Produced During the Qing Dynasty, Paris 2001, pp.118-134.