Bonhams 1793 : A very rare and large famille verte 'five dragon' dish Jiajing six-character mark, Kangxi

Jiajing six-character mark, Kangxi
The interior boldly and vividly enamelled with a central fearsome four-clawed yellow-scaled dragon with a blue face energetically grasping the yellow and black flaming pearl with one claw while stretching out another leg to ward off one of four further four-clawed dragons variously enamelled in shades of green, blue, yellow and grisaille, all reserved on a ground of blackish-green enamel, the underside glazed white. 55.6cm (21 7/8in) diam.

Sold for £37,250 inc. premium

Footnotes

清康熙黑地五彩龍紋盤青花「大明嘉靖年製」楷書款

Porcelains from the Kangxi reign period are renowned for the liveliness and ferocity of their dragons, but there are few examples to rival the raw energy of those on the present piece. In addition, the generous size and wide-ranging palette of yellow, blue, green and grey, on a green ground of an almost inky-black tone, marks this piece out as extremely unusual.

For a dish with a comparably fierce single dragon in the well and with a Kangxi six-character mark and of the period, see J.Ayers, Chinese Porcelain: The S.C.Ko Tianminlou Collection, Part I, Hong Kong, 1987, no.87. Another dish, smaller but with a roaring dragon on a similarly blackish-green ground, also with a Kangxi six-character mark and of the period, in the Nanjing Museum is illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p.75.

Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art

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