Lo 354. A large famille-verte 'Water Margin' dish, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period (1662-1722). Diameter 15 1/4  in., 38.7 cm. Estimate 15,000 — 25,000 USD. Lot sold 32,500 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

with shallow, gently rounded sides rising from a short, straight foot, boldly enameled with an animated scene depicting the warrior Wu Song fighting a tiger, beneath a full moon, all encircled by a narrow band of leafing peony blooms on a green stippled ground reserving auspicious symbols, the reverse plain save for a border of petal lappets encircling the foot, coll. no. 1538. 

Provenance: Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art, London, 2005.

Note: Depictions of tigers are relatively rare on Chinese porcelain. The present dish illustrates a well-known episode from the famous novel The Water Margin in which one of characters, Wu Song, in a drunken stupor, manages to defeat a vicious tiger with his bare hands. His bravery is lauded and rewarded by the locals who had lived in fear of the animal. 

Sotheby's. Kangxi: The Jie Rui Tang Collection, Part II, New York, 19 Mar 2019