JIAJING PERIOD (1522-1566)

This type of winged dragon is sometimes called a ying long, and sometimes a feiyu. The winged dragon was one of a group of winged or flame-propelled animals associated with the sea - commonly known simply as haishou or sea-creatures - who appear on porcelains of the Ming dynasty. It has been suggested that this was a reflection of China's maritime supremacy in the early Ming period (see L.A. Cort and J. Stuart in Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Washington, DC, 1993, p. 40). This may be so, but in fact these creatures have a much earlier origin in the Shanhaijing or 'Classic of Mountains and Seas', which was a literary work revised by Guo Pu in the Eastern Jin period (AD 317-420), but which regained popularity in the early Ming dynasty. All of the sea-creatures seen on Ming porcelains can be identified from descriptions in the Shanhaijing (see Chen Ching-kuang, 'Sea Creatures on Ming Imperial porcelains', in Rosemary Scott (ed.), The Porcelains of Jingdezhen, London , 1993, pp.101-22). These appear as a group on 15th century imperial porcelain and on those of the Wanli reign. Two of the group appear individually on porcelains of the Jiajing reign - the winged horse and the winged dragon. Compare the decoration of this jar to a very similarly decorated fish basin sold at Christie's London, 9 November 2010, lot 219.