Lot 1188. An underglaze blue-decorated yellow-ground square bowl, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566), 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm.) across. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Unsold. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The bowl has deep, slightly rounded flaring sides. Each facet is painted in underglaze blue with an animated, five-clawed dragon with tufts of hair amidst sprigs of lingzhi fungus, and the center of the interior with a square medallion enclosing a stylized shou character below a foliate scroll at the rim, all within double blue line borders and reserved on a thin, pale lemon-yellow ground.

Note: A bowl of the same pattern and shape, formerly in the H. J. Oppenheim Collection, is illustrated by R. L. Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1923, pl. 27 (top). Another example is illustrated in The 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1981, p. 197, no. 811. An aubergine, green and yellow-decorated example is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain: The S. C. Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, Part I, p. 118, no. 70, where it is noted that square bowls of this type were popular during the Jiajing period and were decorated with other designs and color schemes, but their popularity declined after the Wanli period.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York