A MASSIVE YELLOW-GROUND GREEN AND AUBERGINE 'DRAGON' CHARGER QING DYNASTY, GUANGXU PERIOD

boldly incised in the center with two leaping dragons, one in green enamels and one in aubergine enamels, confronting on a 'flaming pearl' amidst scattered billowing clouds and flame motifs, the cavetto encircled by flowering sprays of lotus, peony, prunus, chrysanthemum and peach blossom, the wide everted rim encircled by a frieze of six smaller dragons each chasing 'flaming pearls', the underside with four matching larger dragons beneath a frieze of cranes interspersed with clouds on the rim, the decoration all incised and brightly enamelled on a rich egg-yolk yellow ground, the base inscribed with a Chuxiu Gong zhi seal mark

There is a haircrack running from the rim approximately 1/2 inch which divides into a Y shape extending 2 inches along one side of the Y, and approximately 4 inches on the other. The yellow enamel is slightly misfired over much of the charger, giving it a speckled appearance. There is also considerable wear to the enamel in the center. The yellow enamel on the underside is similarly speckled overall.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Exhibition of Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing, Hong Kong, 1983, included a large biscuit dish, no. 96, with the Chuxiu Gong zhi mark, which is illustrated, p. 154. A discussion of this dish by Simon Kwan, ibid., pp. 30 - 31, states that these wares consist mainly of large objects for display, believed to have been ordered by the Empress Dowager Cixi for her own special use when she was residing at the Chuxiu Gong, the Palace of Gathering Elegance, in the Imperial Palace. The Empress Dowager was believed to have used the Chuxiu Gong for several years around 1856 and again around 1885.

The design of this dish originates from a earlier Kangxi prototype; for a Kangxi example, see John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. 197.

An almost identical dish sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th May 1987, lot 592, and again in our London rooms, 19th June 2002, lot 70.