A Rare Blue and White 'Mythical Beast' Dish Wanli Mark and Period

the shallow rounded sides supported on a straight foot, painted to the central medallion with mythical beasts amongst a river landscape, encircled by pacing dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls at the rim, the exterior with detached flowering and fruiting sprays, inscribed with a six-character Wanli mark within a double-circle

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th May 1980, lot 48.
Christie's Tokyo, 15th February 1981, lot 340.
Sotheby's London, 16th June 1982, lot 304.

This dish is in good condition. There is some bubbling to the glaze at and below the rim. There is one crack and two small chips to the body under the glaze that are associated with the manufacture of this piece. There is some areas of crawling to the glaze to the exterior above the foot and two shallow firing cracks to the exterior base (1cm and 7cm).There is also some pin hole-sized burst bubbles to this area.
"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."

The present piece belongs to a small group of blue-and-white Wanli mark and period dishes all bearing a different landscape scene in the interior, while retaining the dragon design band around the rim and the exterior decorated with alternating floral and fruit sprays. For example, see a larger dish, the centre painted with boys at play, from the Clark and Palmer collections illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Oriental Blue and White, London, 1973, pl. 53B, with four leaping dragons shown full-face around the rim; another, also decorated with the boys theme, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 14^th November 1989, lot 39; and a third example included in the exhibition The Fame of Flame. Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli Periods, University Museum of Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2010, cat. no. 89, from the Songde Tang collection.

Dishes of this type can also be found with the inner wall painted with the ‘dragon and phoenix’ motif, such as the dish included ibid., cat. no. 90, with the centre depicting a figural scene from the Han dynasty novel Biographies of Immortals by Liu Xiang and the outer wall painted with floral and fruit sprays as seen on this example. Compare also a dish sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27^th November 2007, lot 1743; and another, from the Jingguantang collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 16^th September 1998, lot 366,