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A RARE GREEN-ENAMELLED ‘DRAGON’ DISH MARK AND PERIOD OF HONGZHI
Description
- porcelain
Provenance
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. R.H.R. Palmer (no. 173), from 1928 to 1962 (£10).
Sotheby's London, 27th November 1962, lot 19 (£1700).
John Sparks Ltd, London, 1962 (£ 1700).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1962 (£1700).
Exhibited
Literature
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."
Catalogue Note
‘Green dragon’ dishes from the Hongzhi period are rarer than examples from the Zhengde reign. A dish of similar design and size is illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 7: 17. Two larger Hongzhi dishes are respectively illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Enamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1966, vol. 1, pl. 5; and Edgar E. Bluett, Ming and Ch’ing Porcelain, London, 1933, pl. XV, no. 46. Compare also a Hongzhi-marked dish illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, pl. 693. Two dishes similar to the present piece were sold in our London rooms, 11th March 1969, lot 106, and 26th June 1973, lot 224. A related Hongzhi dish was sold at Christie’s London, 14th June 1982, lot 95, and is illustrated in Anthony du Boulay, Christie’s Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1984, p. 162.
The present dish was originally painted with five-clawed dragons, but the green enamel for the fifth claws of all its dragons was later erased, probably to dissimulate the imperial provenance of the dish, making it exceedingly rare among such Hongzhi dishes. A Zhengde dish, with the fifth claws of its green dragons similarly erased, was sold in these rooms, 15th November 1988, lot 159.