A green-enamelled incised 'dragon' dish


Chenghua six-character markEnamelled in the interior within a circle with a writhing five-clawed dragon in pursuit of the 'flaming pearl', the exterior with a further two striding green dragons on an incised ground of crashing waves and flaming pearls. 20.3cm (8in) diam.
|綠彩刻雲龍紋盤青花「大明成化年製」楷書款Provenance: an English private collection, acquired in the 1920s, and thence by descent來源： 英國私人收藏，購於二十世紀二十年代，並由後人保存迄今Compare with a related dish with dragon design in green enamel on a white ground, Chenghua mark and period, in the Percival David Foundation (PDF 707), illustrated by R.Fong, Ming Colours: Polychrome Porcelain from Jingdezhen, London, 2006, pp.94-95, no.38. See also a similar dish with Hongzhi six-character mark and of the period, illustrated by J.Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p.185, no.7:17. Another similar dish, with Hongzhi six-character mark is also illustrated by J.Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, no.67.