A large green-enameled blue and white dragon dish. Kangxi six character mark in underglaze-blue within a double circle and of the period (1662-1722)

The deep dish with green enamel reserved on the underglaze blue ground, well painted in the interior with two five-clawed dragons leaping amidst scrolling clouds in pursuit of flaming pearls, the design repeated in the cavetto and on the exterior above a continuous band of stylized petal lappets - 14½ in. (36.8 cm.) diam., box  - Estimate : $35,000 - $45,000

Notes : Kangxi period dishes of this general type usually feature a single dragon painted in the center, and the current dish, with its pair of confronted dragons, appears to be a rare design. A Kangxi period green-enameled dragon dish of slightly larger size (48.2 cm.) and similar design, although with a single dragon painted in the center, in the Umezawa Kinenkan, is illustrated in Special Exhibition - Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, 1994, p. 221, no. 316.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 17 September 2008. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. www.christies.com