A massive yellow-ground underglaze-blue 'dragon' charger, Mark and period Jiajing | 明嘉靖　黄地青花穿蓮龍紋大盤　《大明嘉靖年製》款

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. 5 (unillustrated).

Fujio Koyama et al., eds, Sekai toji zenshu [Ceramic Art of the World], vol. 11: Yuan and Ming dynasties, Tokyo, 1955, pl. 111.

Ryoichi Fujioka, Toji Taikei [Complete Series of Ceramics], vol. 42: Ming dynasty blue and white porcelain, Tokyo, 1975, pl. 62.

Ryoichi Fujioka and Gakuji Hasebe, Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 14: Ming dynasty, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 216.

Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Masterpieces of the Okada Museum of Art, vol. 1, Tokyo, 2013, no. 28.

This monumental vessel is comprehensively decorated with five dragons amidst luxuriant lotus scrolls in underglaze-blue against a yellow ground. The vibrant dragons and flourishing lotus motifs represent classic Jiajing period ornamentation, yet no identical example appears in extant collections. The only recorded counterpart, a Qing Court preserved piece is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Underglaze Blue and Copper Red (Middle Period), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 234; while another blue-and-white version (Palace Museum acc. no. 00144393) is believed to have been commissioned for imperial rituals worshiping heaven and earth.

The decoration on this dish embodies the distinctive Jiajing style, reflecting the Emperor's profound devotion to Daoism. The dragon motifs exhibit a unique religious transformation, with porcelain designs deeply infused with Daoist ritual symbolism. As recorded in the Lingbao Wuliang Duren Shangjing(Upper Scripture of Limitless Salvation), one of Daoism's core texts, dragons traversing lotus branches symbolize the descent of celestial deities into pure lands. Thus, the 'dragon-amidst-lotus' motif merges traditional dragon imagery with the Daoist concept of 'sacred purification and rebirth', marking the stylistic shift of Jiajing imperial wares from the Xuande period's robust vitality to religious mysticism.

Another dish of identical form is offered in this sale as lot 1107.

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5（沒載圖）

出版

小山冨士夫等編，《世界陶磁全集》，卷11：元明篇，東京，1955年，圖版111

藤岡了一，《陶磁大系》，卷42：明の染付，東京，1975年，圖版62

藤岡了一及長谷部楽爾，《世界陶磁全集》，卷14：明，東京，1976年，圖版216

小林忠編，《岡田美術館名品撰》，卷1，東京，2013年，編號28

本器形體碩大，通體黃地青花繪五龍。五龍矯健生動，蓮花枝繁葉茂，為嘉靖時期流行紋飾。傳世品種不見同類者，惟見清宮舊藏相同例著錄，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集·青花釉裏紅 (中)》，香港，2000年，圖版234；故宮另藏青花例（故00144393 ），應為奉旨燒製皇室祭祀天地之重器。

盤上紋樣為嘉靖朝特色，因皇帝篤信道教，龍紋呈現了獨特宗教性轉向，瓷器紋飾深度融合「道儀玄章」理念。道教重要經文之一《靈寶無量度人上經》中龍穿蓮枝寓天尊駕臨淨土之意，因此穿蓮龍紋將傳統龍紋與道教「聖潔化生」意象結合，見證嘉靖皇帝御窰瓷從宣德雄渾轉向宗教神秘主義的風格。

同場另有一件相同盤，見編號1107。