拍品专文
It is rare to find stembowls with striding dragons and a central 'flaming pearl' in underglaze-blue with slip-decorated dragons to the interior, however an example from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Pope was included in the exhibition of Blue-Decorated Porcelain of the Ming Dynasty at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1949, Catalogue no. 4; another example sold in Hong Kong, 16 May 1989, lot 116.
Stemcups of this pattern with painted chrysanthemums to the interior are more common, cf. the examples from the Palmer Collection sold in these Rooms, 17 January 1989, lot 561; another of similar design from the Junkunc Collection was sold in these Rooms, 25 October, lot 718; Two other related examples painted with flower medallions to the interior were included in the Philadelphia exhibition, 1949, op. cit., nos. 4 and 8. Nos. 5-7 in the same Exhibition have the three-clawed dragon to the exterior, but the slip designs within are different. No. 6 was subsequently sold from the Fuller Collection, in our London Rooms, 28 June 1965, lot 149.
There has been much discussion on the correct dating of these wares as excavations around the precincts of the Hongwu Palace in Nanjing in 1970, uncovered a whole group of porcelains, including stembowls related to the present lot. Cf. the example illustrated by Wang Qingzheng in Underglaze Blue and Red, pl. 31, and by Addis, Chinese Ceramics form Datable Tombs, pl. 31a from the Tomb of Wang Xingzu, dated 1371. Addis notes, however, that the tomb also contained three Southern Song guanyao pieces demonstrating that 'heirloom' pieces were part of the burial
Stemcups of this pattern with painted chrysanthemums to the interior are more common, cf. the examples from the Palmer Collection sold in these Rooms, 17 January 1989, lot 561; another of similar design from the Junkunc Collection was sold in these Rooms, 25 October, lot 718; Two other related examples painted with flower medallions to the interior were included in the Philadelphia exhibition, 1949, op. cit., nos. 4 and 8. Nos. 5-7 in the same Exhibition have the three-clawed dragon to the exterior, but the slip designs within are different. No. 6 was subsequently sold from the Fuller Collection, in our London Rooms, 28 June 1965, lot 149.
There has been much discussion on the correct dating of these wares as excavations around the precincts of the Hongwu Palace in Nanjing in 1970, uncovered a whole group of porcelains, including stembowls related to the present lot. Cf. the example illustrated by Wang Qingzheng in Underglaze Blue and Red, pl. 31, and by Addis, Chinese Ceramics form Datable Tombs, pl. 31a from the Tomb of Wang Xingzu, dated 1371. Addis notes, however, that the tomb also contained three Southern Song guanyao pieces demonstrating that 'heirloom' pieces were part of the burial