O stensibly the only surviving bowl of its kind, this unique bowl is a pleasant surprise from the Zhengde court, representing the court's rare forays at creativity and originality, and a delectable departure from derivative designs commonly amassed in the Jingdezhen imperial kilns during the brief reign of Zhengde (r. 1506-21). The majority of Zhengde porcelain pieces were produced as stylistic continuations of previous reigns (see lots 103 and 138, for instance), the phenomenon of which has often been attributed to a lack of strong imperial patronage. Nonetheless, the Zhengde court was able to expand the repertoire of forms and designs, resulting in a small number of highly unusual and innovative pieces that are unrivalled in its distinctiveness. The present bowl is a rare specimen of such creations, made exclusively during the Zhengde reign and appears to be produced in a very small quantity, with discovered archaeological comparables being few and far between.

Of the rare excavated examples, its peers exist merely in the form of shards rather than a complete piece. See a blue and white reserve-decorated bowl of this design, reconstructed from shards excavated in 1987 from the imperial kiln site at Jingdezhen, illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Hongzhi and Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty, vol. 2, Beijing, 2017, pl. 191. The stark absence of a double circle around the reign mark on the reconstructed bowl suggests it is very likely an unfinished piece and meant to have additional enamelling after the first firing, plausibly with the present bowl in mind.

This blue-ground yellow-dragon design had not been further explored after the Zhengde reign, perhaps due to the painstaking production processes involved. It would require craftsmen to meticulously incise the dragon-and-flaming pearl design onto the interior of the bowl, then outline the dragons in cobalt on the outside and carefully fill in the negative space. After the first firing, enamel artists would apply yellow and green enamelled details before sending the bowl for a second firing at a lower temperature. Every step has to be done with great attention and precision; any slight failure would cause the destruction of the entire bowl, which possibly had happened with this piece's lesser example, hence it was discarded after the first firing.

Similar yet simplified designs emerged a dynasty later during the celebrated reigns of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. See a Yongzheng example illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Miscellaneous Enamelled Porcelains and Plain Tricolour Porcelains, Shanghai, 2009, pl. 64, which harkens back to the Zhengde endeavours with the blue-ground yellow-dragon design.

The fact that the unique bowl survives after five centuries is truly remarkable; if not for this bowl, we may never have discovered the intended appearance of the excavated examples, and these pieces would remain shrouded in mystery. This paragon first appeared on the market in 1980 and was lauded as the 5th highest-priced artwork in the sale, subsequently entering the famed T.Y. Chao Collection and eventually released in the 1986 sale - a sale which remains in the zeitgeist of Chinese Art connoisseurs. Since then, the piece has been retained in the illustrious Leshantang Collection for nearly four decades, which allured the attention of rapt collectors in passing via select exhibitions.

此 盌設計細緻獨特，外璧飾青花地留白雲龍，於龍身施以黃彩、龍髮輔以綠彩，盌心暗劃雙龍逐珠，紋飾靈動清晰。紋飾博納正德御窰作坊之工藝精華，甚為別緻，歷代不曾所見，實屬正德御瓷得意新穎之作。

本盌應為存世孤品，相類作品僅見寥寥出土殘片例。可參考一青花地撥白雲龍紋盌修復例，於1987年景德鎮御窰遺址出土，載於《明代弘治正德御窰瓷器》，卷二，北京，2017年，圖版191，其器型尺寸與本品相約，紋飾雷同，乃至布局等皆如出一轍，底署四字款，惟未見雙圈，故可推斷此修復盌例非為最終成品，或帶瑕疵，故就地碎而棄之。

此盌工藝繁複，費工費時，每一步均須絕對精確，差之毫釐，失之千里，瑕疵者碎之，正德一朝以外不見復燒，足見此盌成品之罕。相類藍地黃彩龍紋盌僅於入清後，於康熙、雍正及乾隆朝見有相仿，惟紋飾已趨簡單，並未承襲正德特點，可參考一雍正例，為清宮舊藏，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：雜釉彩．素三彩》，上海，2009年，圖版64。

此盌歷經百年得以傳世保存，實為難得，亦為出土例提供珍貴研究資料。此盌於1980年首現於拍賣，為當場成交價第五高拍品，入藏於一代船王兼香港地產大亨趙從衍（1912-99年）舊藏，再而釋於1986年趙從衍家族專拍，此後便由樂善堂珍藏近四十載，如今再度亮相，實為可貴。