This magnificent bowl is a rare example of porcelains produced in the Zhengde period, with its unusual colour combination on the dragons. While the more commonly found dragon designs of the t.mes are decorated in a single colour only, the attractive blue, green and red hues on this piece are remarkable. The contrasting colours highlighted the eccentric body of the powerful creatures, infusing life into the dynamic scene of dragons chasing the flaming pearl.

Doucai has been translated as contrasting, contending, interlocking, joined or dovetailed colours, referring either to the contrast of the mostly primary colours or the fact that overglaze enamels are fitted into underglaze outlines. The technique was first developed in the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644), refined in the Chenghua period (1465-87) when multi-coloured wares began to be used at court, and reimagined during the Zhengde reign as potters mixed the established colours in new combinations.

Although bowls of this type are rare, there are a few examples almost identical to the present piece being held in important museums worldwide; see two bowls preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession nos Gu 00145700 [https://digicol.dpm.org.cn/cultural/detail?id=58d0ac1d4a124ab6bbd6dd943312fcff] and Gu 00145701 [https://digicol.dpm.org.cn/cultural/detail?id=a850df24d6754e81ba6e2d67c2408e9b]), one of them illustrated in Wang Liying, ed., Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 12: Ming (shang) / The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 12: Ming (I), Shanghai, 1999, cat. no. 219; another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Gugong Cang Ci. Ming Cai Ci Er: Chêng-Tê, Chia-Ching / Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Enamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty. Book II: Chêng-Tê and Chia-Ching, Hong Kong, 1966, cat. no. 5; one in the Nanjing Museum, included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain in Underglaze Blue from the Nanjing Museum collects ion, Sagawa Art Museum, Moriyama, Japan, 2003, cat. no. 40-1; and a further bowl in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 1991.253.54), included in the Museum’s exhibition A Selection of Chinese Ceramics from the Adele and Stanley Herzman collects ion, New York, 1990.

Compare other Zhengde polychrome bowls with a dragon motif, where additional colours were used on other decorative elements; see, for examples, two bowls in the National Palace Museum, Taipei; a blue and white one with iron-red clouds (accession no. Gu ci 010243 [http://antiquities.npm.gov.tw/Utensils_Page.aspx?ItemId=307069]); and the other with green-enamelled dragons and a band of doucai floral decoration near the rim (accession no. Gu ci 002812 [http://antiquities.npm.gov.tw/Utensils_Page.aspx?ItemId=299637]); both listed in Gugong ciqi lu. Di er ji: Ming / Record of Porcelains from the Old Palace. The Second Series: Ming, Taipei, 1963, vol. 2, part 1.

正德鬪彩雲龍紋盌，設色脫俗，極為珍稀。當朝官窰瓷器之龍紋多為單色，本品融合青花、綠彩、礬紅綴繪遊龍逐珠，更顯矯健威猛，生趣靈動。

「鬪彩」，始於早明，鬪乃湊也，意謂色彩之湊合，彼此相襯相映，於瓷器上以釉下青花勾勒圖紋，釉上彩裝填諸色，此技巧臻於成化，正德年間，進而發展不同釉彩搭配變化。

相類作例甚罕，參考重要博物館藏品，如北京故宮博物院藏二例（館藏編號：故00145700 [https://digicol.dpm.org.cn/cultural/detail?id=58d0ac1d4a124ab6bbd6dd943312fcff]、故00145701 [https://digicol.dpm.org.cn/cultural/detail?id=a850df24d6754e81ba6e2d67c2408e9b])），其一刊於《中國陶瓷全集：明（上）》，卷12，上海，1999年，編號219；還有一盌藏於國立故宮博物院，台北，錄於《故宮藏瓷：明彩瓷（二）正德、嘉靖》，香港，1966年，編號5；南京博物院藏一例，展出於《明代官窯靑花磁器の宝庫：南京博物院蔵》，佐川美術館，守山市，2003年，編號40-1；紐約大都會藝術博物館藏一器（館藏編號：1991.253.54），載於《A Selection of Chinese Ceramics from the Adele and Stanley Herzman collects ion》，紐約，1990年。

比較其他正德龍紋彩瓷，如台北國立故宮博物院藏一例，青花搭配礬紅雲紋（館藏編號：故瓷-010243 [http://antiquities.npm.gov.tw/Utensils_Page.aspx?ItemId=307069]），另一器綠彩龍紋，口沿綴鬪彩花卉紋（館藏編號：故瓷-002812 [http://antiquities.npm.gov.tw/Utensils_Page.aspx?ItemId=299637]），皆刊錄於《故宮瓷器錄：第二輯：明（乙：上編）》，台北，1963年。