Lot Essay
Large dishes of this particular design, painted in the centre with a powerful and ferocious front-facing, winged dragon, first appeared during the reign of the Yongzheng emperor, however the prototype for these dishes may be found in porcelains of the Ming dynasty. For a Xuande period example (19.3 cm. diam.) painted with a central dragon amidst a floral scroll beneath two dragons in profile in the cavetto, see A. D. Brankston, Early Ming Wares of Chingtechen, 1938, pl. 21a.
A large Qianlong-marked dish of this type, and of similar size (50.5 cm. diam.), is illustrated by A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, New Jersey, 1984, p. 203. Another Qianlong-marked dish of this type, also of similar size (51 cm. diam.) was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2 May 1994, lot 657.
A large Qianlong-marked dish of this type, and of similar size (50.5 cm. diam.), is illustrated by A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, New Jersey, 1984, p. 203. Another Qianlong-marked dish of this type, also of similar size (51 cm. diam.) was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2 May 1994, lot 657.