Lot 2705. Property from The Tianminlou Collection. A very rare and exceptional blue and white ‘dragon’ dish, Hongzhi six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1488-1505); 21 cm diam. Price realised HKD 67,775,000 (Estimate: HKD 2,400,000 – HKD 3,200,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2023.

Provenance: Collection of Mrs Alfred Clark (c.1890-1976)
Sold at Spink & Son Limited, London, Blue and White Porcelain from the Collection of Mrs Alfred Clark, 24 October 1974, lot 33.

Literature: - Oriental Ceramic Society, Ming Blue-and-White Porcelain, London, 1946, Catalogue, no. 58
- Oriental Ceramic Society, Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain 14th to 19th Centuries, London, 1953, Catalogue, no. 111
- Sir Harry Garner, Oriental Blue and White, London, 1954, pl. 39b
- Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art in association with the Art Gallery, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 75
- Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art in association with the Art Gallery, Hong Kong, Taipei, 1982, p.75
- Anthology of Chinese Art: Min Chiu Society Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 1985, p. 358, no. 153
- Chinese Porcelain in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, no. 33
- Liu Liang-yu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 4: Ming Official Wares, Taipei, 1991, p. 158
- Blue and White Porcelain from the Tianminlou Collection, Taipei, 1992, p.134-135, no. 50
- Blue and White Porcelain from the Collection of Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1996, p. 140-141, no. 55
- The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 2010, p. 285, no. 142
- The Radiant Ming, 1368-1644 Through the Min Chiu Society Collection, Hong Kong, 2015, p. 34, no. 16.

Exhibited: - Oriental Ceramic Society, Exhibition of Ming Blue-and-White Porcelain, London, 24 October – 21 December 1946, no. 58
- Oriental Ceramic Society, Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain 14th to 19th Centuries, London,16 December 1953 – 23 January 1954, no. 111
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art in association with the Art Gallery, Hong Kong, 19 December 1981 to 18 February 1982, p.75
- National Museum of History, Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art in association with the Art Gallery, Hong Kong, Taipei, 20 April-30 May 1982, p.75
- Hong Kong Museum of Art, Anthology of Chinese Art: Min Chiu Society Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 25 October 1985 – 15 January 1986, no. 153
- Hong Kong Museum of Art, Chinese Porcelain in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, no.33
- Chang Foundation, Blue and White Porcelain from the Tianminlou Collection, Taipei, 1992, no. 50
- Shanghai Museum, Blue and White Porcelain from the Collection of Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1996, p. 140-141, no. 55
- Hong Kong Museum of Art, The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 25 September 2010 – 2 January 2011, no. 142
- Hong Kong Museum of History, The Radiant Ming, 1368-1644 Through the Min Chiu Society Collection, Hong Kong, 2015, no. 16.

Note: The current dish is a remarkably rare example of the very few extant Hongzhi-marked blue and white porcelain pieces. The Hongzhi Emperor, unlike his father the Chenghua Emperor, was known to be an austere ruler and issued several edicts during his reign to cease ceramic production at the imperial kiln in Jingdezhen, which accounts for the general scarcity of Hongzhi-marked pieces. Blue and white wares from this period are even rarer, with Adrian Joseph speculating that there are possibly less than 20 extant pieces known to date (refer to Adrian Joseph, Ming Porcelains. Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, p. 26).

This exceptional dish came from the celebrated collection of Mrs. Alfred Clark (née Ivy), one of the preeminent collectors of Chinese art in the 20th century. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Clark started collecting in the 1920s and their collection was first brought to the attention of the public in a series of articles written by Edgar E. Bluett in 1933-34. The couple were major supporters of the Oriental Ceramic Society in London, and regularly lent their pieces to its exhibitions. They are also remembered for their generous donation to the British Museum, including a Northern Song Ru dish (acquisition no. 1936,1019.1).

An identical Hongzhi dish decorated with double dragons contesting a 'flaming pearl' on the interior is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book IV, Hong Kong, 1963, pl. 8.

Other variations of this type include dishes painted with a single dragon on the exterior and two dragons contesting a pearl on the exterior, such as the example formerly in the collection of Y.C. Chen, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 1932 (HK$3,870,000); and another formerly in the Pilkington Collection, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 28 (HK$6,440,000).

Christie's. The Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 30.11.2023