A LONGQUAN CELADON 'DRAGON' BOWL YUAN / EARLY MING DYNASTY

sturdily potted, the deep rounded sides rising from a straight foot to a slightly everted rim, deftly carved on the exterior with a dragon striding among clouds, the fierce creature animatedly depicted with a powerful sinous body, muscular limbs and bulging eyes, the interior similarly decorated with an impressed central dragon roundel below a lotus scroll around the cavetto, applied overall with an unctuous olive-green glaze save for a ring on the base left unglazed and fired pale orange

Christie's London, 12th November 2002, lot 2.

In overall good condition. There are glaze gaps including one measuring 0.6cm wide to the outer footrim, other to the interior base seems to be polished as visible in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

This bowl is unusual for the freely incised dragons striding around the exterior; a closely related example was sold in these rooms, 29th November 1977, lot 4. Compare a spouted bowl similarly decorated with an impressed dragon in the centre, an incised lotus scroll in the interior well and a dragon on the exterior, included in the Special Exhibition of Dragon-Motif Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1983, cat. no. 11, together with a bowl of the same shape and size and incised with two dragons around the interior, cat. no. 12. See also a dish attributed to the 14th/15th century depicting a similar dragon, but with five claws rather than four, in the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Stacy Pierson, Designs as Signs. Decoration and Chinese Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 62.