Chinese roof tile from Tiananmen Square, the circular tile with a dragon in relief to centre, in light brown glaze. Provenance: the collection of Peter Boode, who worked in Shanghai in the early 20th century and subsequently opened an antique shop in the 1930s in Mount St, London, patronised by European Royals and other wealthy members of society, his expertise lay in antiques up to and including the Ming period and in 1943 he published notes for collectors of Chinese antiques from remote antiquity to the end of the Ming period and lectured at the Oriental Society in London. Most of his collection was sold by Sothebys in the 1970s. This and other lots were by family descent. 17cm diam