A massive Chinese imperial porcelain blue and white fish bowl, gang. The rim with a six-character mark of Jiajing in a line in underglaze blue and of the period, 1522-1566. © Marchant

painted on each side with a winged dragon fish in pursuit of a flaming pearl amongst stylised ruyi-head clouds above crested waves. 28 ¾ inches, 73 cm diameter. Price on requerst

Formerly in a European private collection. 

A dragon gang of this form from the J. Love Collection is illustrated by R.L. Hobson in The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, fig. 2, pl. 26; another of this massive type also with a dragon, formerly in the collection of the Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, was included by Marchant in their Recent Acquisitions catalogue, 2005, no. 4, pp. 12-3; a further example is illustrated by Wang Qingzheng and George Fan in The Shanghai Museum catalogue of Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr & Mrs J.M. Hu, no. 21, p. 54. 

A massive imperial fish bowl painted with fish, also Jiajing mark and period, was included by Marchant in their exhibition of Ming Porcelain, 2009, no. 15, pp. 36-9.

The dragon with fins is a feiya. It is a Ming-dynasty badge of rank, a symbol for officials to rise in status.

Marchant. 120 Kensington Church Street London W8 4BH. United Kingdom. Tel: 44 0207-229-5319 - Fax: 44 0207-792-897 -  http://www.marchantiques.com