A blue and white 'dragon' dish, Mark and period of Zhengde | 明正德 青花穿蓮龍紋盤 《正德年製》款

A European private collection.

Sotheby's London, 15th May 2013, lot 104.

歐洲私人收藏

倫敦蘇富比2013年5月15日，編號104

The design of dragon and lotus was one of the most characteristic pattern of the Zhengde period (1506-21) and adorned a variety of vessels, including bowls, stemcups, jars of zhadou shape and dishes. Although this design was popular throughout the Ming period, the dense and even composition rendered in soft cobalt blue seen on the present dish is peculiar to the Zhengde reign.

Closely related examples, all bearing the four-character reign mark that is characteristic of this group of dishes, are found in museums and collections around the world; see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 63; one in the Capital Museum, Beijing, published in Zhongguo taoci quanji, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 12, pl. 138; another in the Shanghai Museum, included in Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 116; and a fourth example formerly in the collection of Mrs Alfred Clark, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1679, and was sold multiple times at auction, most recently in these rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 19, from the Meitintang collection. For the Xuande prototype see one excavated at the waste heaps of the Ming imperial kilns, published in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi, Shanghai, 2007, pl. 3-119.

For recently sold examples of similar Zhengde-period dishes, see one from the collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung, sold in these rooms, 9th October 2022, lot 135; compare another one from the collection of Albert Y.P and Sara K. S. Lee, sold in our New York rooms, 21st September 2022, lot 202.

A dish of this design is shown on the sixth scroll of the Guwan tu (Imperial Collection of Yongzheng), dated to the sixth year of his reign (1728), which was sold in our London rooms, 19th May 1939, lot 62, and is now in the British Museum, London, from the Sir Percival David collection.

穿蓮游龍紋乃明朝正德時期最具代表性紋飾之一，廣用於盌、高足盃、渣斗、盤等器。本品鈷藍彩濃淡得宜，佈局鮮明、疏密有致，為正德精瓷的佼佼者。

同書四字正德年款相類作例可見於各博物館及私人收藏，包括北京故宮博物院藏一例，錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：青花釉裏紅（中）》，上海，2000年，圖版63；北京首都博物館藏一作例，錄於《中國陶瓷全集》，上海，2000年，卷12，圖版138；另見一例藏於上海博物館，錄於汪慶正著《青花釉裏紅》，香港，1993年，圖版116；，在拍賣場多次成交，最近一次於2012年10月9日成交於香港第四例為曾艾弗瑞．克拉克夫人舊藏，錄於康蕊君，《玫茵堂中國陶瓷》，倫敦，1994-2010 年，卷4，編號1679蘇富比玫茵堂珍藏專場，編號19。參見明朝御窰址廢堆出土之宣德朝雛本，錄於陸明華, 《明代官窰瓷器》，上海，2007年，圖版3-119。

近年成交之正德时期近例見何鴻卿爵士私人收藏中一例，2022年10月9日於香港蘇富比售出，編號135；另有一例曾為李爾白及駱桂生伉儷收藏，2022年9月21日於紐約蘇富比拍出，編號202。

雍正六年（1728）作之《古玩圖》上繪一盤，紋飾與本品相同，該例1939年5月19日售於倫敦蘇富比，編號62，現為倫敦大英博物館大衛德收藏。