6 – M4918
Description
Chinese imperial porcelain blue and white dragon bowl, wan, thinly potted with gently rising upright sides on a short foot rim, painted with two five-clawed dragons with detailed scales and open mouths, each in pursuit of a flaming pearl, amongst stylised flames, the interior glazed white.
The base with a six-character mark of Kangxi within a double ring in underglaze blue and of the period, 1662-1722.
6 ¼ inches, 16 cm diameter.
Provenance & Additional Information
- Included by Marchant in their exhibition of Chinese Blue and White – Wan Li to K’ang Hsi, July 1980, no. 21.
- A distinguished English private collection, Holland Park, London, and thence by descent.
- Sold by Bonhams Hong Kong in their auction of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 28th May 2019, lot 133.
- Another is illustrated by Wang Qingzheng in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Shanghai, 1998, no. 13, p. 20; another, purchased from Dr. S. Bushell, accessioned in 1883, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession no. 110A-1883; two further examples are illustrated by Thomas Fok in Encompassing Precious Beauty, The Songzhutang Collection of Imperial Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong, 2016, nos. 19 and 20, pp. 60-63.
- The pearl, seen here between the dragons, is best known as the representation of knowledge or wisdom that is pursued by the dragon, and is often depicted on imperial objects including robes, sculpture, friezes and porcelain.
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