A very rare polychrome 'dragon' dish Ming dynasty

with shallow rounded sides resting on a short tapered foot, rising to an everted rim, freely painted in red, yellow, green and turquoise enamels, the interior with a central medallion containing a winged dragon amid cloud scrolls leaping from crested waves in pursuit of a flaming pearl, within a double-line border, repeated at the rim, the exterior with two similar dragons each in pursuit of a flaming pearl, the base with the six-character mark Zhengtong bingchen nianzhi (corresponding to 1436) within a double-circle in iron-red

The present dish was inspired by the famous Chenghua dish of the same design dated to the 17th year of the Chenghua reign (equivalent to AD 1481), in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, illustrated in Chugoku no toji, vol. 9, Tokyo, 1996. Compare also a pair of dishes from the collection of Sir A.A. Aykroyd sold in our London rooms, 17th May 1966, lot 19 and 20.