Lot 903. A small aubergine and green-glazed ‘dragon’ bowl, Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1662-1722); 10.2 cm diam., cloth box. Price realised USD 100,800 (Estimate: USD 18,000 – USD 25,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023.

The bowl with slightly flaring rim is incised and decorated on the exterior in aubergine with five-clawed dragons striding amidst flames and clouds in pursuit of flaming pearls above a band of waves crashing on rocks, all reserved on a bright green-glazed ground.

ProvenancePrivate New York collection.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, no. 4718.

NoteCompare two Kangxi-marked bowls of this design and size from the Helen and Peter Lin Collection illustrated in Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Chinese Ceramics from the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1993, pp. 90-1, nos. 19 and 20.

The design was based on a Ming original, such as a larger bowl with a Wanli reign mark and an additional band of keyfret around the foot, illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum, Enameled Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1966, book III, pl. 9.

Christie's. J. J. Lally & Co.New York, 23 march 2023