Lot 118. The Leshantang Collection. A pair of iron-red and underglaze-blue 'dragon' shallow bowls, Marks and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 12.5 cm. Lot Sold 2,159,000 HKD (Estimate 600,000 - 800,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023

each with shallow rounded sides resting on a tapered foot, the interior with a slightly raised centre, decorated with a medallion enclosing an iron-red five-clawed dragon in profile, writhing amongst scrolling clouds above underglaze-blue turbulent waves cresting with foams, the exterior similarly decorated with eight dragons in various poses above waves, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double circle.

Provenance: Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-80).
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25th November 1980, lot 25.
Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-99).
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 18th November 1986, lot 62.

Literature: Literature: Zhongguo mingtao Riben xunhui zhan. Gangtai mingjia shoucang taoci jingpin [Exhibition of famous Chinese ceramics touring Japan. Fine ceramics from private Hong Kong and Taiwanese Collections], Museum of History, Taipei, 1992, p. 146.
Sotheby's Hong Kong – Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 152.
The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei, 2005, pl. 25.

Exhibited: Chūgoku meitō ten: Chūgoku tōji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of important Chinese ceramics: Essence of two thousand years of Chinese ceramics], Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo, and six other locations in Japan, 1992, cat. no. 95.
Ching Wan Society Millennium Exhibition, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 2000, cat. no. 95.

Note: The design of red dragons above underglaze blue waves was used at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen since the early Ming dynasty, when mostly, however, underglaze copper red was employed, instead of overglaze iron red. Red enamel based on iron oxide required each vessel to be fired twice, the second time at a lower temperature, allowing for more precise designs with a brighter red tone than the temperamental copper red. The final result is impressive, with the two bright colours in sharp contrast with each other, as seen on the present pair of dishes.

This particular motif is a continuation of the decorative design formulated in the preceding Jiajing and Longqing reigns; it also appears on other types of utensils, such as cups and dishes and large bowls. For Wanli examples similar to the present pair, see two bowls from the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (accession nos B60P1297 and B60P1298); and another pair sold in these rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3733. See also two Wanli dishes of this design in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Imperial Porcelain of the Ming Dynasty], Shanghai, 2007, Shanghai, 2007, pls 1-104 and 1-105; and three further auction examples: the first from the collections of Edward T. Chow and Roger Pilkington, sold in these rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 43; the second from the collections of Mary Clark Thompson and Metropolitan Museum of Art, sold at Christie's New York, 15th September 2016, lot 837; and a third dish, also from the collection of Edward T. Chow, sold in these rooms, 25th November 1980, lot 24.

For Jiajing and Longqing vessels in this design, see a Jiajing bowl in the Qing court collection in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain With Underglazed Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 228; and a Longqing bowl in the Taipei Palace Museum, illustrated in Lu Minghua, op. cit., pl. 5-10. This design was also copied during the Kangxi reign; see a pair of Kangxi cups with apocryphal Longqing marks (Lu Minghua, pl. 5-48).

Sotheby's. The Leshantang Collection – Treasures of Chinese Art from the Tsai I-Ming Collection, Hong Kong, 8 October 2023