Lot 68. Plat lobé en porcelaine bleu et blanc. Chine, dynastie Ming, marque et époque Wanli (1573-1620); 34 cm, 13 5/8 in. Estimate 150,000-200,000 EUR. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

le fond orné de deux dragons à cinq griffes en vol autour de la perle enflammée parmi des nuages stylisés, les parois intérieures et les bordures également décorées de dragons, le pourtour extérieur agrémenté des huit emblèmes bouddhistes bajixiang dans des rinceaux stylisés, marque à six caractères dans un double cercle en bleu sous couverte à la base

A blue and white lobed 'dragon' basin, China, Ming Dynasty, Wanli mark and period (1573-1620)

NOTE: While Wanli mark and period basins of this elegant octafoil form can be found decorated in both blue-and-white and polychrome enamels, it is rare to find examples painted with the dragon design. In its potting, form and decoration this vessel reflects the powerful style and manufacture characteristic of Jingdezhen's production in the Wanli period.

Although the emperor himself paid little attention to state affairs, arts under his reign, according to Charles O. Hucker, was vigorous, creative, productive and exploratory. See L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368-1644, New York and London, 1976, p. 325.

While no other closely related example appears to be recorded, the same bajixiang motif can be seen on the exterior of a blue-and-white octafoil basin decorated with a figure scene, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 2, pl. 189; and another formerly in the collections of Su Lin An and Meiyintang, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 1995, lot 321, and again, 7th April 2011, lot 72. The bajixiang design on the exterior is also known in a polychrome version; see an octafoil Wanli mark and period basin painted in the wucai palette with a figural scene, sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1979, lot 309.

Compare also a five-lobed basin finely painted in underglaze-blue and wucai enamels with a five-clawed dragon and a phoenix in the centre amongst flowers, included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, the Royal Academy of London, London, 1935, cat. no. 1979, sold in our London rooms, 24th March 1953, lot 82; and another polychrome pentafoil basin decorated with a single large front-facing five-clawed dragon surrounded by ruyi clouds, from the Jingguantang collection, sold at Christie's New York, 20th March 1997, lot 89.

Sotheby's. Arts D'Asie. Paris | 15 Dec 2011 www.sothebys.com