A FINELY ENAMELLED AND RARE GREEN-GROUND AUBERGINE 'DRAGON' DISH MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI

the centre finely incised with a ferocious five-clawed dragon writhing amid flames and cloud swirls in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', decorated around the well with two further sinuous dragons each chasing a 'flaming pearl', the exterior similarly decorated with a pair of dragons above a lotus lappet border at the foot, the incised areas applied with silvery tones of aubergine, all reserved on a bright emerald-green ground, the white glazed base inscribed with the six-character mark in underglaze-blue

T.Y.Chao Private and Family Trust Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 18^th November 1986, lot 117.

Ch'ing Porcelain from the Wan Kwong Collection, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1974, cat.no.48.

Ch'ing Polychrome Porcelain, Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong, 1977, cat.no.51.  

Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of T.Y.Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, cat.no.73. 

 

The dish is in very good condition overall, with the exception of surface scratches to the interior well. There is an area of glaze pooling to the base of a slightly creamy colour.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A dish of this design and equally large size, in the Hallwyl Museum, is illustrated in Jan Wirgin, K'ang-hsi Porcelain, Stockholm, 1974, pl.37b; another sold in our New York rooms, 13^th February 1969, lot 46, now in the Umezawa Kinenkan, Tokyo, is illustrated in Shincho toki, Tokyo, 1984, pl.24; and a third slightly smaller example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain, vol.1, Tokyo, 1980, pl.30.

Compare also a dish from the Nanjing Museum included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat.no.30; and another sold at Christie's London, 3^rd December 1973, lot 209, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 22^nd May 1979, lot 229.