Lot 289. A very rare Longquan celadon 'dragon' bowl, Yuan-early Ming dynasty, 14th-15th century; 7½ in. (19 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 25,000. Price realised USD 21,600. © Christie's Images Ltd 2007

Thickly potted with rounded sides rising to a slightly everted rim, the exterior carved with a scaly four-clawed dragon racing through clouds, the center of the interior impressed with a dragon roundel below lotus meander carved in the well, covered allover with a soft olive-green glaze, an unglazed circle on the base burnt orange in the firing.

Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 8 July 1974, lot 175.
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 15 May 1990, lot 14.

Note: It is very rare to find Longquan celadon wares carved with dragon designs. A Longquan celadon spouted bowl carved on the exterior with a very similarly rendered dragon is illustrated in Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Dragon-Motif Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1983, no. 11, together with a Longquan bowl, no. 12, of the same size as the present lot and carved on the interior with two similar dragons. Both of these bowls were dated to the Yuan dynasty. A Longquan celadon dish dated to the 14th-15th century and carved with a similar dragon, but bearing five claws rather than four claws, as on the present example, is in the Percival David Foundation and is illustrated by S. Pierson, Designs as Signs: Decoration and Chinese Ceramics, London, 2001, p. 67, no. 62. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 22 March 2007