An underglaze blue-decorated yellow-ground square bowl.  Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and possibly of the period. photo Nagel Auctions

With deep, slightly rounded flaring sides, each facet painted in underglaze blue with an animated, five-clawed dragon with tufts of hair amidst sprigs of lingzhi fungus, the center of the interior with a square medaillion bearing 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. 

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 Cellection, 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 

Very minor restored glaze frits to rim and edges. 15,5 x 15,5 cm - Estimate 3 000 €

Nagel Auctions. Asian Art. November 3rd 2011. www.auction.de