Finely potted with an everted rim, meticulously incised to the interior with a central roundel enclosing a sinuous five-clawed dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl, surrounded by two striding dragons around the cavetto, the exterior similarly incised with a further pair of dragons amidst clouds and flames, all covered with a vibrant purple glaze. 25.2cm (10in) diam..

Provenance: An important European private collection formed during the first half of the 20th century, and thence by descent.

Notes: The European collector (1880-1952) was an entrepreneur with early links to Russia and Japan. From 1911-1917 he lived in St. Petersburg where he owned a company selling high-quality stainless steel, and where he learned the Russian language. 

Although he first visited Japan in 1907, it was in 1920 that he returned home to set up a sales operation similar to that in St. Petersburg which had been halted three years earlier due to the political upheaval. He spent several years in Osaka and Kobe, when his interest in Japanese works of art commenced. Once again he realised the benefit of learning the language in order to facilitate the acquiring of works of art. The result was a fine collection of woodblock prints, netsuke, inro, porcelain (in particular Kakiemon vases), swords, lacquer and silver.

It was in the 1930s, when back in Japan, that he extended his collection to include Chinese art. Fine porcelain, Tang silver, and early bronzes were his particular interests, and he studied these subjects both in books and through his discussions with his friend Kusaka Shogado, who was a leading dealer based in Kyoto, and from whom he made many purchases. He visited Japan for the last time in 1938, when he bought numerous items for his collection.

Dishes similar to the present lot can be found in important museum and private collections; see one in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Hong Kong, 1995, no.7; another is illustrated in Kangxi Porcelains from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl.224; a further example is illustrated in C.J.A.Jörg, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijkmuseum, Amsterdam: The Ming and Qing Dynasties, London, 1997, no.261. Examples in private collections include a pair of dishes illustrated in Shimmering Colours, Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods: The Zhuyuetang Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, no.160; and another example which is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain: The S. C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, pl.144. 

A further similar example was sold at Sotheby's London on 7 November 2012, lot 401. 

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-11-29, 14:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY