JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE IN A LINE AND OF THE PERIOD (1522-1566)

Details

A LARGE BLUE AND WHITE FISH BOWL
JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE IN A LINE AND OF THE PERIOD (1522-1566)
Heavily potted, the deep sides painted in rich saturated blue with two fierce five-clawed scaly dragons racing around the sides in pursuit of a flaming pearl, one turning its head just as the other is about to grasp the pearl with its outstretched claw, all within blue line borders and with further blue line borders on the top of the flat rim
29 in. (73.7 cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

A fish bowl of this date and pattern was included in the exhibition, Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. J.M. Hu, Shanghai, 1989, no. 21; and another example of this pattern is illustrated in Ming dai taoci daquan, Taiwan, 1987, p. 317.

The large size of these dragon fish bowls made them particularly difficult to manufacture. See R. L. Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1923, pp. 19 and 110, where it is mentioned that this type of ware required up to nine days firing and that the low rate of success often drove the imperial potters to despair.

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