Page 52 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art November 2018

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 士紳藏品
153
AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND LARGE IMPERIAL
UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND IRON-RED ENAMEL
‘NINE DRAGON’ DISH
Qianlong seal mark and of the period
Exquisitely potted with rounded sides rising from a short tapered
foot to a flat everted rim, the interior vibrantly painted with a central
medallion enclosing a writhing iron-red five-clawed frontal dragon
coiling around a flaming pearl, against a ground of underglaze-blue
waves, surrounded on the cavetto with four iron-red dragons striding
amidst ruyi-shaped clouds rendered in shaded tones of cobalt-blue,
each dragon portrayed differently, two of them five-clawed, the
other two three-clawed, one winged and detailed with a fish tail, all
surrounded by a border of crashing waves on the rim, the exterior
vibrantly decorated with four similar dragons striding through clouds.
47.5cm (18 2/3in) diam.

£400,000 - 600,000
CNY3,600,000 - 5,400,000

清乾隆 青花礬紅水波雲龍紋折沿大盤
青花「大清乾隆年製」篆書款

Provenance:
Sir David Newbigging, purchased in China in 1960, and brought from
Hong Kong to the United Kingdom in Spring 1984

來源：
David Newbigging爵士收藏；約於1960年赴華期間購藏，
並於1984年春由香港帶赴英國

The present lot encapsulates the exacting and refined taste of the illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987,
Qianlong emperor together with the high skill and artistry of the pl.956; and a further example in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum,
artisans as well as the innovation and imagination of the Imperial kiln Tokyo, illustrated in Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, 2006, no.53.
supervisors such as Tang Ying (1682-1756) in charge of the Imperial
porcelain manufactory in Jingdezhen. With bold and powerful dragons Dishes of this design first began during the Yongzheng period, which,
leaping through crashing waves and wispy clouds, the trio of emperor, in turn, were inspired by an early-Ming dynasty pattern. See for
artisan and official ensured that this impressively large dish would example, a blue and white dish, Xuande mark and period, painted with
exude Imperial splendour, power and refinement at Imperial banquets a side-facing five-clawed dragon in the centre among crashing waves,
or special Imperial celebratory occasions. illustrated in Xuande Imperial Kiln Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei,
1998, no.87. The Yongzheng emperor applied himself to harnessing
Only a handful of Qianlong seal mark and period examples of dishes the artistic and material resources of his revamped workshop system
of this impressive size and bold decoration are known to exist in to forge a new Imperial style bearing his personal imprint and no object
either public or private collections. See one example, however, in the could be made and released without his approval, often at every step
Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty: The Official of the design-make process. Indeed, he was known to have sent
Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p.275. antiques from the palace to Jingdezhen both in order to set standards
See also another large dish decorated with iron-red dragon on an and as a model and inspiration for designs.
underglaze-blue background, Qianlong seal mark and of the period,

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
50 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.