A FINE AND RARE YELLOW-AND-GREEN 'DRAGON' BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

finely potted with wide rounded sides everted at the rim issuing from a narrow tapering foot, engraved on the outside with two striding five-clawed dragons with forked horns, bushy manes and scaly bodies, each chasing a 'flaming pearl', all above a border of crashing waves circling the foot, the designs all picked out in a deep green on a bright yellow ground, the interior left white

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1820.

There are 3 very short and faint hairlines on the rim the from 4 mm to 8 mm. The glazing is in very good condition.
"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."

Yellow-and-green 'dragon' bowls are based on Ming dynasty prototypes and were already produced in the Zhengde, Jiajing and Wanli reigns. A Zhengde example in the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, Holland, is illustrated in Barbara Harrisson, Keramiek uit Azie, Leeuwarden, 1985, pl. 53; another, probably also of the Zhengde reign but with a phags-pa mark is in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 8:31; and a Jiajing example is illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1953, pl. 90A.

In the Qing dynasty, yellow-and-green 'dragon' bowls are well known from the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, but are rare from the Yongzheng reign. A similar Yongzheng bowl in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui [Selection of ancient ceramic material from the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2005, vol. 2, pl. 141; another bowl of this design from the Riesco collection was included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition The Arts of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Arts Council Gallery, London, 1964, cat. no. 187, pl. 68. For a Kangxi prototype with slightly steeper sides in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco see He Li, Chinese Ceramics. A New Standard Guide, London, 1996, pl. 616.