Lot 3734. A pair of blue and white and iron-red 'dragon' dishes, seal marks and period of Qianlong (1736-1795), 17.9 cm, 7 in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 500,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.
each with shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot to a flared rim, the interior with a central medallion enclosing an iron-red scaly five-clawed dragon soaring against a ground of tempestuous waves rendered in underglaze blue, the exterior decorated with nine iron-red dragons against underglaze-blue waves below a band of stylised florets and scrollwork encircling the rim, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark.
Provenance: Sotheby's Paris, 15th December 2011, lot 182.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 03 Oct 2017