Lot 60. A rare and large blue and white 'dragon' dish, Jiajing mark and period (1522-1566). Diameter 17 1/4  in., 43.8 cm. Estimate $60,000–80,000. Lot sold 87,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

with gently rounded sides rising from a slightly tapered foot, boldly painted to the interior in inky tones of underglaze blue with two dragons in pursuit of a 'Flaming Pearl' above crested waves and amidst cloud and flame scrolls, all enclosed within ring borders, the underside with a frieze of nine similar ascending and descending dragons above waves, the six-character mark inscribed in a horizontal line within a rectangular cartouche beneath the rim, Japanese wood box (3).

Note: This dish is notable for its large size and unusual design of two confronted dragons; see a slightly larger example from the collection of Dr Ip Yee, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th November 1984, lot 185; and another, in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, was included in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, ed. John Ayers, London, 1986, vol. 2, cat. no. 924; and a much larger version sold at Christie’s London, 16th November 1999, lot 187. See also a similar dish in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, acc. no. TG-959.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 Sep 2017, 10:00 AM