A fine and rare iron-red and underglaze-blue 'nine dragon' charger, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 青花礬紅彩九龍圖折沿大盤 《大清乾隆年製》款

A Japanese private collection.

Kochukyo Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

5th Anniversary Exhibition. All-Stars of the Okada Collection: Masterworks of Korin, Jakuchu, Hokusai and the Ru Ware Kilns, Okada Museum of Art, Hakone, 2018-19, exh. no. 154 (unillustrated).

Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Masterpieces of the Okada Museum of Art, vol. 1, Tokyo, 2013, no. 35.

Of imposing scale and breathtaking vitality, this magnificent charger represents the very pinnacle of Qing imperial porcelain production. The expansive 47.7 cm diameter interior is animated with five ferocious dragons - their sinuous iron-red forms dramatically contrasted against turbulent underglaze-blue waves and wisps of cloud. At the centre, a mighty five-clawed dragon confronts the viewer head-on, its muscular body coiled in mid-leap, while four attendant dragons circle the walls with equal energy. The composition exudes an imperial grandeur perfectly suited for the most important court ceremonies and banquets.

This spectacular dish embodies the Qianlong Emperor's profound appreciation for porcelain perfection, realised through the peerless technical skill of Jingdezhen's master potters under the inspired direction of kiln superintendent Tang Ying (1682-1756). The design evolved from Yongzheng prototypes, themselves inspired by early Ming dynasty originals, yet achieves new levels of sophistication in its Qianlong iteration. According to the Qinggong neiwufu zaobanchu dang'an zonghui [Comprehensive Archive of the Qing Imperial Household Department Workshop], on the 25th day of the sixth month in the third year of Qianlong's reign (1738), a large Xuande-style dish featuring red dragons amid blue clouds and waves, described as a 'Xuanyao hong long qing yun haishui dapan,' was presented to the emperor along with other porcelains. For the production of large pieces within this set, blueprints were commissioned and then forwarded to Tang Ying, see further discussion in Zhang Faying,Tang Ying du tao wendang, Beijing, 2012, pp.148-152. 

Only a handful of chargers of this monumental scale and superb quality are recorded: compare one in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 275; and further two examples in Japan, one in the Idemitsu Collection, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 956 and the other in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, illustrated in Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, 2006, no. 53. 

The charger's magnificent decoration draws upon the finest Ming dynasty traditions while showcasing Qing innovations. The combination of iron-red dragons against underglaze-blue waves first achieved prominence during the Xuande period (1426-1435), as seen on covered bowls (hewan), like one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Splendors from the Yongle and Xuande Reigns of China’s Ming dynasty, Beijing, 2012, no. 35. The dynamic central dragon posture recalls a Xuande stem cup in the Percival David Collection, illustrated in Craig Clunas and Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming: 50 Years That Changed China, London, 2014, p. 86, fig. 69, though the Yongzheng and Qianlong rendition presents the dragon head fully frontal for greater impact.

The four subsidiary dragons display fascinating variations - two five-clawed imperial dragons alternating with two three-clawed princely examples, one featuring rare bat-like wings. This configuration likely reflects the Yongzheng-era motif of "the emperor instructing the crown prince (canglong jiaozi)," as widely seen on porcelains of this period, for example, a copper red-ground dragon vase and cover, Yongzheng, in Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and his Times, Taipei, 2009, p. 175.

Two closely related dishes of this design sold in these rooms, one was sold on 15th May 1990, lot 207 as the cover lot, then sold again in Christie’s New York, 21st March 2025, lot 1104; another was in the collection of Rolf Nobel, sold on 5th October 2016, lot 3305. Compare also a further example sold in our London rooms, 5th December 1995, lot 303. The fourth similar dish was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 709.

來源

日本私人收藏

壺中居，東京

展覽

《開館5周年記念展―美のスターたち―光琳．若冲．北斎．汝窯など名品勢ぞろい》， 岡田美術館，箱根，2018-19年，展覽編號154（沒載圖）

出版

小林忠編，《岡田美術館名品撰》，卷1，東京，2013年，編號35

此件氣勢磅礡、生機盎然的巨作，堪稱清代御窰製瓷工藝的巔峰之作。47.7公分的寬闊盤面，五條礬紅虬龍叱咤於青花海浪雲氣之間，呈現驚心動魄的視覺張力。中央五爪正龍怒目圓睜，虯勁龍身於波濤中騰空躍起，四條行龍環繞盤壁飛舞，構圖展現皇家威儀，當為重要宮廷典禮或盛宴而製。

此盤凝聚乾隆皇帝對瓷藝極致的追求，經景德鎮御窰巧匠在督陶官唐英（1682-1756）指導下完美呈現。其紋飾淵源可溯至雍正朝原形，而雍正設計又承襲明初範本，至乾隆時期更臻精妙。《清宮內務府造辦處檔案總匯》明確記載：乾隆三年六月二十五日（1738年），「七品首領薩木哈，催總白世秀來說太監高玉交……宣窰紅龍青雲海水大盤一件……傳旨：交與燒造磁器處唐英……倶照樣燒造送來。燒造完時再將交出原磁器繳回，仍交磁器庫。此磁器內有大器皿應畫樣帶去，其小磁器皿俱各帶」。可知此類大件器物須繪製圖樣發往景德鎮交唐英承造，有本有源，詳見張發穎，《唐英督陶文檔》，北京，2012年，頁148至152。

存世同類尺幅與品質的乾隆御製大盤寥若晨星：可比較南京博物院藏一例，載於《宮廷珍藏: 中国清代官窑瓷器》，上海，2003年，頁275；另兩例存於日本，其一為出光美術館藏品，見《中國陶瓷：出光美術館藏》，東京，1987年，圖版956；另一例載於《靜嘉堂文庫美術館》，東京，2006年，編號53。

此盤紋飾既承明韻又見創新。紅龍藍海之搭配首見於宣德時期（1426-1435），如北京故宮藏宣德青花礬紅海水雲龍紋合盌，見《明永樂宣德文物圖典》，北京，2012年，編號35。中央正龍的騰躍姿態亦是宣德遺緒，比較大維德基金會藏明宣德青花釉裡紅海水龍紋高足盃之龍紋，載於柯律格、霍吉淑編，《Ming: 50 Years That Changed China》（明：改變中國的五十年），倫敦，2014年，頁86，圖69，然雍正乾隆改制為全正面龍首，氣勢更顯磅礡。四條脇侍行龍尤具深意，兩條五爪真龍與兩條三爪行龍交替環繞，其中一應龍更生罕見蝠翼。此構圖當源自雍正朝常見的「蒼龍教子」題材，可比較臺北故宮藏雍正紅地白龍海水紋蓋罐，見《雍正：清世宗文物大展》，台北，2009年，頁175。

香港蘇富比釋出兩件類似乾隆例子，其一於1990年5月15日作為封面，編號拍品，後於2025年3月21日經紐約佳士得易手，編號1104號；另一件為羅爾夫·諾貝爾舊藏，2016年10月5日售出，編號3305。另可比較另一件類似作品，1995年12月5日售於倫敦蘇富比，編號303，以及2002年10月28日香港佳士得售出一例，編號709。