A BLUE AND WHITE 'WINGED DRAGON' SAUCER-DISH Wanli six-character mark and of the period Painted to the centre with a medallion depicting a four-clawed, winged dragon coiling amid billowing clouds above cresting waves, with a double ring below the mouth rim, the exterior decorated with a pair of similar dragons pursuing flaming pearls above waves. 23.5cm (9 1/4in) diam. Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 明萬曆 青花應龍紋盤 青花「大明萬曆年製」楷書款 Provenance: acquired from R & G McPherson Antiques, London, in 2005 (collector's notes) Published and Illustrated: M.White, Eating at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White collection, vol.3, n.p, 2022, p.88 來源：獲得于倫敦古董商R & G McPherson Antiques，2005年（藏家筆記） 著錄： M.White，《Eating at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White collection》，第3冊，無出版地，2022年，第88頁 The dragons depicted on the present lot are distinguished by their wings. The motif of the winged dragon is recorded in the third-century lexicon Guangya (廣雅) as the yinglong (應龍) with many associated legends. In the Taiping Guangji (太平廣記), compiled in the Song dynasty, it is recorded that: 'When Yu the Great was controlling the floods, the ying dragon traced the ground with its tail to guide the waters to their outlet.' In the Shouxi Notes (守溪筆記) by the Ming scholar Wang Ao, it is noted that 'one day, Emperor Xuanzong, while examining paintings within the palace, observed a dragon in flight bearing wings, and was struck by its unusual form.' The winged dragon motif began to gain popularity from the Ming dynasty onwards. Compare with a polychrome 'winged dragon' dish of similar composition, with a shangyong mark which means 'for use of the supreme' and of the Chenghua period, in the collection of the British Museum, London (acc.no.PDF.761). See also a related blue and white 'winged dragon' dish, Zhengde period, in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Hongzhi and Zhengde in the Ming dynasty, vol.II (明代弘治正德御窯瓷器 下), 2017, Beijing, pp.482-483. Compare with a blue and white 'winged dragon' dish, Jiajing six-character mark and of the period, which was sold at Christie's Paris, 6-18 June 2024, lot 701. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing