Lot 128. A fine pair of underglaze blue and iron-red 'dragon' dishes, Qianlong seal marks and period (1736-1795), 17.5 cm, 6 7/8  in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 GBP. Lot sold 43,750 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

each with shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to a slightly everted rim, the interior painted with a lively five-claw dragon writing above breaking waves, the exterior painted with nine dragons dancing above breaking waves, the base inscribed with a seal mark in underglaze blue - Quantity: 2

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 29th February 1972, lot 260 (£260).

Note: A closely related dish is illustrated in George J. Lee, Selected Far Eastern Art in the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 1970, pl. 383; one is published in Robert Schmidt, Chinesische Keramik, Frankfurt am Main, 1924, pl. 126; another from the collection of Edward T. Chow was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25th November 1980, lot 124; one was sold in these rooms, 15th December 1987, lot 205; and a pair of dishes was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th October 1992, lot 83, and again, 25th April 2004, lot 311.

Dishes of this type are also known with the waves rendered with washes of cobalt, such as a pair of dishes included in the exhibition Ch’ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1973, cat. no. 70.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 10 mai 2017, 02:00 PM