Page 104 - 2019 October Qing Imperial Porcelain Sotheby's Hong Kong

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A GREEN-GROUND AUBERGINE-ENAMELLED 清雍正 綠地紫彩雲龍戲珠紋盌
‘DRAGON’ BOWL
MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG 《大清雍正年製》款
skilfully potted with deep rounded sides rising from a
tapered foot to a flared rim, the exterior superbly incised
and enamelled in aubergine with a dynamic scene depicting
a pair of dragons soaring sinuously above crashing waves
amidst flaming wisps, each scaly mythical beast rendered
five-clawed and chasing a flaming pearl, all against a bright
grass-green ground, the base inscribed in underglaze blue
with a six-character reign mark within a double circle
15.1 cm, 5⅞ in.
HK$ 500,000-700,000
US$ 64,000-89,500

Green- and aubergine-enamelled bowls of this design from
the Yongzheng reign are extremely rare, and were modelled
on earlier prototypes from the Kangxi period. Such design
rendered in this colour scheme proved to be popular among
the Qing court, as similar bowls continued to be made in the
subsequent reigns.
A closely related example from the Qing court collection and
now preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated
in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace
Museum. Miscellaneous Enamelled Porcelains Plain Tricolour
Porcelains, Shanghai, 2009, pl. 129. The identical size and
close comparison of the mark calligraphy on these bowls
suggest they are probably by the same hand and may have
been destined as pairs. Bowls of this design from the Kangxi
and Qianlong reigns are also illustrated ibid., pls 126 and 130.

Mark

102 SOTHEBY ’S QING IMPERIAL PORCELAIN