A magnificent and large Imperial blue and white 'dragon' dish, Qianlong seal mark and of the period. Photo courtesy Bonhams.

Exquisitely potted with a short circular recessed foot, the gently curving sides rising to a flat lipped rim, the interior dominated by a ferocious forward-facing dragon, its five-talon claws outstretched in pursuit of the flaming pearl decorated in the form of a stylisedshou character, the scaly and muscular body engulfed with flames writhing amidst wispy cloud scrolls within double-lined borders, the inner frieze decorated with four dragons in flight amongst lightning clouds beneath splashing wave border, the cavetto depicting a continuous scene of raging waves interspersed with emerging rockwork piercing through the seas, the base with a six-character Imperial zhuanshu seal mark in underglaze-blue. 44.8cm diam. Estimate on request

The dragon traditionally symbolises the ultimate auspiciousness and authority in Chinese history, whereby it represents the total control over all the natural elements and as the bringer of luck as well as prosperity to those who are worthy. The Emperor being the Son of Heaven, is always represented by a dragon to symbolise his Imperial political power and strength over his nation and subjects. As shown by the current lot, the main forward facing dragon is clearly defined by the bold styles adopted by the Qianlong Emperor, where the mythical being is depicted with the utmost ferocity and overwhelming presence. Its sharpened five-claws issuing from powerful limbs trying to grasp the fireball in the form of a rarely seen idiosyncraticshou character serves as a symbol of blessing to the Qianlong Emperor, granting him a long life of ten thousand years or wan sui. 

Under the rule of the Qianlong Emperor, Chinese art and the ceramic industry reached new heights, creating some of the most spectacular porcelains ever crafted in the history of China. The blue and white porcelain in particular during the Qianlong period achieved new heights in terms of decorative techniques, shapes of the vessels as well as the quality of the materials used. In the expert hands of the Qianlong Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, firing of the cobalt blue pigments surpassed the simple deep and luminous blue colour, instead achieving a luxurious range of layered tones carefully controlled to represent realistic subjects, in this case, bringing the naturalistic dragon to life, as beautifully exhibited by the current lot. 

The Qianlong emperor is well-known for his taste in technically innovative and artistically challenging pieces. He commissioned his best artisans to work at the Imperial kilns of Jingdezhen to produce unconventional but technologically breakthrough Imperial porcelain pieces for his personal pleasure, no matter the cost. It is evident from the rare and elaborate crashing waves motif at the cavetto, where most would not usually pay careful observation, that the current lot is no ordinary porcelain piece fired en masse at the kilns, but rather an inspirational design added to further grant the viewers an enhanced sense of excessive luxury. The sheer size of the current lot would have also been specially commissioned and is extremely difficult to fire in the kilns without warping or any imperfections. 

Few examples of dishes with such exceptional size and quality are collected in museums and private collections around the world, with even fewer to have been offered at auction. See a rare identical example with a centralised dragon encircled by four dragons above raging waves crashing on rockwork at the undersides also with a Qianlong seal mark, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 April 2000, lot 599. Compare also another identical Qianlong marked example published by Regina Krahl & Clarissa von Spee,Chinese Ceramics from the Gulexuan Collection, Lunen, 2003, no.123. For further reference, see a related example of a large blue and white dish but with winged-dragon motif and undecorated in the cavetto, sold in our London rooms, 8 November 2012, lot 51. 

The porcelain from the early years of the Qianlong reign as exemplified by the current lot is often difficult to separate from that of the Yongzheng era. This is not surprising as a selected compilation of designs had been gathered to guide the production of Imperial ceramics in 1729, led by Tang Ying, whom later became the director of the kilns at Jingdezhen. Hence many of the Yongzheng period designs worked by experienced artisans under Tang Ying's leadership would have served the Qianlong emperor during his succession to the throne in 1736. Compare an example with similar decoration but with a Yongzheng seal mark, previously from the Evelyn Annenberg Hall collection which was acquired in 1964, later in the Mathias Komor collection and S. Marchant & Son, London, thereafter published in S. Marchant & Son,Recent Acquisitions 2007, London, 2007, pp.14-15, fig.5, sold at Christie's New York, 29 March 2006, lot 131, and again at Sotheby's New York, 16 September 2008, lot 113. See also another example of the same pattern and size but with a Yongzheng seal mark, formerly in the T.Y. Chao Private and Family Trust Collections, previously illustrated in Ch'ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1973, no.61, and again in Exhibition of Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1978, no.81, subsequently sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 18 November 1986, lot 80. 

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART. Hong Kong. 24 Nov 2013 14:00 CST