An exceptionally rare Ming-style blue and white 'dragon' bowl, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, dated to the 7th year, corresponding to 1742 | 清乾隆七年（1742年） 青花雲龍趕珠紋盌 《康字號七年樣》款

Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 2002, lot 628.

香港佳士得2002年4月29日，編號628

The present bowl is exceptionally rare and belongs to a small group of imperial Qianlong period porcelains that reveal the names of their craftsmen assumed to be samples submitted to the court. The six-character inscription on the present bowl reads: 'A sample made in the seventh year by Kang', corresponding to 1742. A related eight-character mark reading 'Gu zihao pi liu nian hua yang' (A sample with the decorative pattern made in the sixth year by Gu), inscribed on the base of a blue and white 'phoenix' dish in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated by Wang Qingzheng et. al., Underglaze Blue and Red: Elegant Decoration on Porcelain of Yuan, Ming and Qing, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 179, where the author also mentions an underglaze blue example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, bearing an inscription stating it was made by 'He' on the 25th year of Qianlong, illustrated in Sun Yue, 'Qing dai yuyao ciqi de xinshi 'guanyang’ sheji yu shiyong [The design and use of new 'imperial sample' for imperial kiln porcelain in Qing Dynasty], Art Panorama, vol. 12, 2021, fig. 11. Compare also two further porcelain 'samples' in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing: the first, an incised 'dragon' dish bearing an eight-character inscription reading: 'Wu ershiwu hao shiqi nian yang', suggesting it was made by 'Wu' in the 17th year of Qianlong; and the second a clair-de-lune-glazed dish inscribed 'Chun zihao qi nian pi yang' (A sample made by Chun in the 7th year of the reign), illustrated Sun Yue, op. cit., fig. 13. 

The design closely follows Ming dynasty bell-shaped bowls of the Jiajing period, such as one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Minji Meihin Zuroku [Illustrated Catalogue of Important Ming Porcelains. Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli], vol. III, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 14. Bowls of this design and form were also produced bearing more standard Qianlong seal marks, such as one sold alongside the present bowl at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 2002, lot 629.