A MASSIVE BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' DISH JIAJING MARK AND PERIOD

the rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to a slightly everted rim, painted to the interior with two large scaly five-clawed dragons in mutual pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', all amidst fire scrolls and ruyi-shaped clouds, encircled at the well by a composite floral scroll and a cash band at the rim, the exterior with eight medallions each enclosing an Immortal and divided by rocks and ruyi-shaped clouds, the six-character mark written in a line to the exterior below the rim

Charlotte Horstmann and Gerald Godfrey Ltd., Hong Kong, 1st May 1989.

This massive dish has an old riveted repair to a break that runs from the rim at 6 o'clock, with an associated tiny rim chip, around three quarters of the outside edge of the medallion and exits at the rim at 3 o'clock, with an associated approx. 15cm., riveted break and an approx. 1cm., chip to the bottom of the footring, an approx. 15mm., shallow flake to the inside edge of the rim, and minor glaze firing imperfections including iron-spots burst bubbles and light short firing lines.
"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 dish is striking for its immense size, which would have required considerable skill in its manufacture. The body is thickly potted to avoid warping in the kiln during firing, and the designs on the interior and exterior are carefully executed with each element playing an important role in balancing the entire composition.

 

Dishes of such large size were made in small numbers in the Jiajing reign, and were destined both for the court and for export to western Asia. A similar Jiajing mark and period dish of this type, but the well painted with a lotus scroll and the exterior with further dragons, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 120; one from the Huaihaitang collection, was included in the exhibition Enlightening Elegance. Imperial Porcelain of the Mid to Late Ming, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2012, cat. no. 21; and a third painted on the interior with a front-facing dragon, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, pl. 923. See also a dish of these proportions decorated with a dragon over a yellow ground, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, included in the exhibition Seika jiki ten [Exhibition of blue and white porcelain from the Shanghai Museum], Matsuya Ginza, Tokyo, 1988, cat. no. 55; and another published in L. Reidemeister, Ming. Porzellane in Schwedischen Sammlungen [Ming. Porcelains in Swedish collections], Berlin, 1935, pl. 29. 

 

The exterior of this dish appears to depict the story of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, according to which the immortals are believed to have combined their powers to sail past a tempest rather than travelling by their clouds. This anecdote is a lesson on how individual strengths and gifts can together be used to tackle the same obstacle. The immortals are here depicted in circular cartouches surrounded by mountain peaks emerging from water, which symbolise Kunlun mountain, the primordial mountain.