Lot 1297. A rare pair of small yellow-ground blue and white lobed dishes, Jiajing six-character marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566); 4½ in. (11.4 cm.) wide. Estimate USD 40,000 - USD 60,000. Price realised USD 105,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

Each of the foliate-rimmed dishes is painted on the interior in deep tones of underglaze blue on an egg yolk-yellow ground with a reserved dragon leaping amidst flame scrolls surrounded by pairs of leafy fruit-laden peach branches growing from rockwork. The design is repeated on the exterior with the addition of pairs of birds separating the branches, cloth box.

Note: Compare the Jiajing-marked dish of identical size and design offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27 November 1993, lot 60. Similar underglaze-blue dragons set against a yellow ground can also be seen on a Jiajing-marked jue-form wine cup illustrated J. Harrison-Hall in Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 253, fig. 9:86.