A FINE BISCUIT-DECORATED ‘DRAGON’ DISH MARK AND PERIOD OF HONGZHI

with shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot, applied overall with a rich transparent glaze slightly tinged to bluish-green, save for a five-clawed dragon deftly incised on the interior writhing among clouds within a central medallion, its sinuous scaly body and three clouds reserved in the biscuit and fired to a pale orange, the claws and tongues of flame issuing from the dragon's flank incised beneath the glaze, the underside decorated with two further dragons similarly incised and reserved in the biscuit on a ground of lightly incised waves breaking on low pointed rocks, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double circle

Sotheby's London, 19th February 1963, lot 26 (£920), illustrated as catalogue frontispiece.
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1963 (£920).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1963 (£920).

The dish is in very good condition with just a minute area of polishing at the rim, at the 5-7 o'clock positions.
"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 could have been turned into a ‘green dragon’ dish, such as lot 30 in this sale, if its biscuit-fired dragons had been filled with green enamel and undergone a second firing. ‘Green dragon’ dishes from the Hongzhi period are rare, and those with dragons left in the biscuit are rarer, yet are known in sufficient quantity to indicate that they were deliberately left in this state. For a fragment of a Hongzhi dish with biscuit-fired dragon design from the Ming imperial kiln site, see Porcelain from the Ming Dynasty Imperial Kilns at Jingdezhen, Beijing, 2009, pl. 102. For a counterpart with the dragons left in the biscuit and a ‘green dragon’ dish, both from the Zhengde period (1506-1521), see Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pls. 692 and 694.