A YELLOW-GROUND GREEN-ENAMELLED ‘DRAGON MEDALLION’ BOWL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

with deep rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a gently flared rim, the exterior finely incised in the biscuit and enamelled in translucent green with four medallions alternating with pairs of ruyi cloud scrolls, each medallion formed from a ferocious five-clawed dragon coiled around flame wisps in pursuit of a flaming pearl, all above a band of lotus lappets, the interior similarly decorated with a central medallion enclosing a five-clawed scaly dragon reaching out to a flaming pearl, all reserved against a brilliant opaque egg-yolk yellow ground, the white base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue within a double circle

Sotheby's London, 14th November 1967, lot 124 (£400).
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1967 (£400).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1967 (£400).

The bowl is in overall very good condition except for a 'Y'-shaped hairline crack from the rim on the outside measuring 0.3 cm (at around 3 o'clock position seen from the interior roundel) and on the outside 0.7 cm on one end and 0.2 cm on the other.
"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."

Yongzheng mark and period bowls of this type, finely incised with dragon roundels and ruyi-shaped clouds, derive from Kangxi period prototypes, such as one from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Miscellaneous Enamelled Porcelains. Plain Tricoloured Porcelains, Shanghai, 2009, pl. 87. The popularity of this design continued during the Qianlong period, as seen in a pair of bowls with Qianlong marks and of the period, included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, vol. 2, cat. no. 110.

A closely related bowl was included in the exhibition The Wonders of the Potter’s Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 54; one from the collection of H.P. Hebblethwaite, was sold in our London rooms, 2nd/3rd December 1974, lot 488, and again in these rooms, 22nd May 1979, lot 217; and another from the collection of B.C. Tattenhall, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Enamelled Polychrome Porcelain of the Manchu Dynasty, London, 1951, cat. no. 75, was sold in our London rooms, 12th December 1989, lot 412.