ZHENGDE FOUR-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1506-1521)

A similar Zhengde-marked blue and white dish with dragons writhing amidst lotus scrolls is illustrated by Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 200, no. 8:15. Like the present dish, the British Museum example depicts dragons in different attitudes. The dragon in the center is shown with open jaws and bulging eyes. There are also two further dragons in the cavetto and reverse—one shown with jaws shut and the other with jaws open and contorted neck. Harrison-Hall notes that the pattern of the present dish was used on table wares of all shapes made for the Zhengde court.