AN UNUSUAL BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' BOWL WITH RED CLOUDS MARK AND PERIOD OF ZHENGDE

with slightly flared conical sides rising from a sharp angle above the low foot, painted around the outside in a soft underglaze blue with two five-clawed dragons with split curling tails among iron-red clouds, with a blue key-fret border below the rim and a broad blue band around the foot, the inside plain white and engraved with a similar dragon in the centre and two more around the well, the base inscribed with a four-character reign mark

Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London (A 705).
Sotheby's London, 15th October 1968, lot 110.
Sotheby's London 14th December 1982, lot 190.
Collection of Eugene O. Perkins.
Christie's New York, 2nd June 1989, lot 13.
Collection of Irene and Peter Scheinman.
Christie's New York, 23rd March 1995, lot 100.

Born of Earth and Fire: Chinese Ceramics from the Scheinman Collection, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, 1992, cat. no. 82 (illustrated).
Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 133 (illustrated).

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1680.

One side near the front foot of one of the dragons has a short star crack. But the overall condition is still very good, with the iron red enamelling in very good condition. The blue is slightly smudged beneath the glaze. There are small pinholes along exterior rim.
"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 pattern is unusual, both in the way the dragons are depicted (compare the more traditional Zhengde dragons, lot 60), and in its colour combination, where the red clouds appear almost like an afterthought. They do, however, form an integral part of this pattern. The companion piece to this bowl still belongs to the Sir Percival David collection and is now on display in the British Museum, London, see Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, 1980-82, vol. 6, no. 126; another is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from the Herzman collection, see Suzanne G. Valenstein, The Herzman Collection of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1992, cat. no. 83; one from the Koger collection has been published in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics. The Koger Collection, London, 1985, pl. 56. Eight bowls of this description are listed in the catalogue of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Gugong ciqi lu [Record of porcelains from the Old Palace], Taipei, 1961-6, part  II, vol. 2, p. 77; and another bowl, broken and repaired with metal rivets, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui [Selection of ancient ceramic material from the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, pl. 137.