YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

The central decoration on this exceptional blue and white dish depicts a powerful five-clawed dragon. The link between dragons and Chinese emperors can be traced to legends associated with emperors of early China. One of these relates to the legendary first emperor of China, known as the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) whose dates are usually given as 2697–2597 BC. Among the myths associated with the Yellow Emperor it is stated that at his death he was transformed into a dragon and ascended to Heaven. This and other legends contributed to the adoption of the dragon as the symbol of imperial power – a symbolism which spread to other parts of Asia. Here the dragon is seen grasping for a shou roundel, the well-known emblem of longevity.

A similar blue and white Yongzheng-period ‘dragon’ dish in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, is illustrated by K. Vollmer and Nagai-Berthong in Silk Roads-China Ships, Toronto, 1983, p. 229, and another is in the National Museum of China, illustrated in Zhongguo guojia bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu congshu - ciqi juan - Qing dai, Shanghai, 2007, p. 62, no. 38. Qianlong-marked versions were also produced; see R. Krahl with C. von Spee, Chinese Ceramics in the Gulexuan Collection, Düsseldorf, 2003, p. 157, no. 123.