A DOUCAI 'DRAGON' BOWL AND COVER YONGZHENG MARK AND PERIOD

of conical form, the flared sides rising from a short straight foot to three notches around the rim, brightly enamelled around the exterior with two five-clawed dragons in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', leaping amidst mutli-coloured clouds above a band of foam-specked, wind-tossed waves, the domed cover similarly decorated, six-character mark in underglaze blue within double circles

Collection of Mr and Mrs D. Saunders.
John Sparks Ltd., London.

The bowl and cover are in good condition, with the exception of a circa 9cm wide area of restoration to the rim of the cover and a circa 1cm hairline crack next to this. Overpaint is visible to both the interior and exterior. There is general light stained crazing to the transparent green enamels, particular to the waves on the cover. The rim of the bowl with some minute nibbling. Minor firing imperfections 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. 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."

Bowls of this powerful design are held in important museums and private collections worldwide; for example, one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection. Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 30; a pair in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, was included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 52; a single bowl in the British Museum, London, is published in R.L. Hobson, The Later Ceramic Wares of China, London, 1925, pl. LV, fig. 1; and another is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1967, pl. LXXIII (C). See also a bowl of this type from the Aykroyd collection, illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. XCIV, fig. 3, and sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 17th May 1966, lot 230; and a pair sold in these rooms, 8th December 1992, lot 269.

This bowl belongs to a group of porcelain wares discussed by Peter Y.K. Lam in ‘Lang Tinji (1663-1715) and the Porcelain of the Late Kangxi Period’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 68, 2002-2003, p. 44, which he attributes to the early years of the Yongzheng reign on account of their unusual marks.