The scene on this 19in (43cm) Yongzheng famille rose dish (below) depicts the Daoist immortal Magu on her way to celebrate the famous peach banquet of the Queen Mother of the West, Xi Wang Mu, who rules over the garden of the peaches of longevity. The lingzhi fungus she holds in her hand and the stag with a peach in its mouth are also symbols of longevity while the blossoming prunus tree represents youth and new life.
However, equally arresting is a wheel-engraved inventory mark for the collection of Augustus the Strong (1670-1733). His passion for porcelain bordered on an obsession: he owned more than 29,000 pieces of Chinese and Japanese porcelain when he died in 1733.
This plate can be dated with some accuracy since the inventory books at Dresden reveal that dishes of this kind were acquired in 1727.