A pair of wucai 'dragon and phoenix' bowls, Marks and period of Kangxi

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Florida Private Collection.

Christie's New York, 1st June 1990, lot 290.

Bowls painted in brilliant wucai enamels with a dragon and phoenix among leafy stems were an innovation of the Kangxi period. This auspicious design, which refers to the Emperor and Empress and conveys the wish for a happy marriage, grew in popularity in the succeeding reigns, and were produced through the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods. 

Similar Kangxi mark and period bowls of three different sizes from the Nanjing Museum were included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 26; a pair in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 153; a single bowl from the collection of C.P. Lin was included in the exhibition Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration, Percival David Foundation, London, 1992, cat. no. 121; and a pair was included in the Hong Kong Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Ch’ing Polychrome Porcelain, Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong, 1977, cat. no. 32.

For examples sold at auction, see three sold in these rooms, 20th March 2019, lot 531; 11th September 2019, lot 877; and 13th September 2017, lot 3. See also one sold in our London rooms, 10th May 2017, lot 228.