Lot 253. A rare blue and white 'dragon' 'dice' bowl (Bo), Mark and period of Xuande (1426-1435). Diameter 10⅜ in., 26.5 cm. Estimate: 600,000 - 800,000 USD. © Sothebys.

the interior with a six-character mark in underglaze-blue within a double circle, wood stand (2).

Property from the Friedman Family Collection.

Provenance: Collection of Leon (d. 1961) and Max (d. 1942) Friedman, acquired in China between the 1920s and 1940s, and thence by descent.

Powerful yet elegant, bold yet refined, this present bowl exemplifies the celebrated aesthetics of blue and white porcelain produced during the Xuande period (1425-35). Following the Yongle Emperor’s (r. 1402-1424) initiation of unprecedented control of the kilns in Jingdezhen, the short but prosperous reign of the Xuande Emperor saw further refinement and innovation, elevating the level of blue and white porcelain production to new heights.

 A devoted patron of the arts and an artist himself, the Xuande Emperor took great interest in the production of porcelain at the imperial kilns of Jiangxi. Under the close scrutiny of court officials and eunuchs who were sent to Jingdezhen to supervise production, the kilns were able to vastly increase their capacity while improving the standard of workmanship. Indeed, the staggering number of shards unearthed from the Xuande stratum at the Imperial kiln site in Zhushan, Jingdezhen, and the large collection of extant Xuande wares in the Qing Court Collection, now housed in Beijing and Taipei, suggest a dramatic increase in production and stricter level of quality control.

Representative of the many remarkable technical and artistic advances made during this period, the bowl is masterfully drawn – the powerful dragons emerge from the waves in an extraordinary range of rich blue tones derived from the sumali cobalt. Imported from the Middle East with steady supply during the Yongle and Xuande period, the cobalt produced a deep blue pigment, allowing for the famous ‘heaping and piling’ effect, celebrated and extensively imitated on later blue and white porcelains. A further revision of the pigment formula in the Xuande reign enabled a greater precision of the brush work and a more consistent application of the cobalt, evident in the finer details on the bowl – the scales, claws and waves are executed with masterful precision, cleverly juxtaposed with the dynamic poses and expressions of the two robust mythical beasts. The bowl’s translucent, lustrous glaze and finely potted body also reflect the other ongoing advances in porcelain production during this time. This included the refinement of the glaze and kaolin clay, as well as the establishment of a repertoire of pre-designed forms and patterns, all working in union to create a sense of harmony and elegance that epitomize Xuande blue and white porcelains.

On account of the bowl’s solid potting and some unusual wear found on the interior of a few bowls of this type, these wares have traditionally been referred to as ‘dice’ bowls; assuming that the dense walls were made to endure the inevitable wear and tear of flying dice. However, in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, p. 132, the author discusses this particular form, bo, and relates it to the devout Buddhist practice of the Xuande Emperor and his court, suggesting that it may be associated with Buddhist alms bowls. It has also been speculated that these bowls were used as brush washers, as fruit bowls or for the popular game of cricket fights. 

Compare a few closely related examples of Xuande mark and period ‘dice’ bowls in notable museum collections; one housed in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in ibid., pl. 124; another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, National Palace Museum,Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 37. See also one in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 148, and lastly, one in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., published in ibid., vol. 10, pl. 104.

Blue and white 'Dragon' ‘dice’ bowl, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435). Image © Palace Museum, Beijing

Blue and white 'Dragon' ‘dice’ bowl, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435). Porcelain, painted in underglaze blue. Diameter: 27cm. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, no. C.310-1951(2007). ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Porcelain bowl with thick walls, Ming dynasty, Xuande reign, 1426-1435. Porcelain with cobalt under colorless glaze, Jingdezhen ware. H x Diam: 12.6 × 26.6 cm (4 15/16 × 10 1/2 in). Freer Gallery of Art, Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1945.35a-b, © 2022 Smithsonian Institution. 

A few closely related examples have also appeared in auction. See one, previously in the Wu Lai-Hsi Collection, sold in our London rooms, 26th May 1937, lot 52 and then again in the same rooms, 8th May 1951, lot 69, from the collection of C. M. Woodbridge; one from the collection of Major Lindsay F. Hay, sold in our London rooms, 16th June 1939, lot 84, and again from the collection of Lionel Edwards, 8th February 1945, lot 84 and for a third time, listed as from the estate of Major Lindsay F. Hay, 25th June 1946, lot 60. A bowl of this form, included in the exhibition of Ming Blue and White, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, 1964, cat. no. 31 and on loan to the museum between 1964 and 1974, was sold in our London rooms, 6th April 1976, lot 116. Compare another sold in our London rooms, 26th June 1973, lot 236, now in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo and illustrated in Tōru Nakano, The Panoramic Views of Chinese Patterns, Tokyo, 1985, pl. 13.; one sold in our London rooms, 13th December 1977, lot 472, and then again in our Hong Kong rooms, 10th April 2006, lot 1659; one sold in our London rooms, 11th May 1965, lot 27 and later again at Christie's New York, 9th November 1981, lot 118 and another exhibited in Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, from 1977 to 1983, sold in these rooms, 7th December 1983, lot 292. See also one sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 20th March 1990, lot 519; another sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29th October 1991, lot 30; one sold in these rooms, 19th March 1997, lot 230; and another sold at Christie’s London, 18th June 2002, lot 187.

This present bowl comes from the collection of Leon (d. 1961) and Max (d. 1942) Friedman, aviation pioneers who later established an automobile empire in China in the early 20th century. The two brothers emigrated from Romania to the United States in their early teens and soon found themselves in the business of promoting and organizing aviation shows. Initially, they started by working with the Wright brothers, Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871–1948), along the east coast, but soon expanded their company, Motordrome company, to the rest of the country. The shows were met with great success. Huge crowds gathered on the weekends to see pilots put on daring and riveting performances. At the center of these shows was Tom Duck Gunn (d. 1922), the first Chinese pilot who later reported back to China to instruct the Chinese Republic army, marking the beginning of the Chinese air force.

Leon (d. 1961) and Max (d. 1942) Friedman.

Looking to the East, the brothers brought these shows to Japan and China and noticed the huge opportunity of growth in China during their visits. In 1919, the brothers again left everything behind and moved to Shanghai, this time with their eyes fixed on the booming automobile industry in China. They quickly established China Motors Fed., Inc. USA, and became Chrysler’s largest export dealer in the world, setting up public showrooms all over the country, including in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing, and supplying automobiles to the government and army. After more than 20 years, in 1940, the brothers returned to the United States due to the increasingly turbulent political crisis in China. Max Friedman passed away shortly thereafter in 1942, and Leon in 1961, both leaving behind a fascinating legacy and a lifetime of pioneering and adventure.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 23 March 2022