China, 1480-1520. The rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to an everted barbed rim. Eccentrically painted in bold strokes with a central medallion enclosing a ferocious flying-fish dragon (feiyu) chasing a flaming pearl, surrounded by flames and clouds. The interior sides with alternating crashing waves and scrolling clouds, the rim with a diapered border.

Provenance: Sotheby’s London, 26 April 1966, lot 51. Collection of John Burke da Silva, acquired from the above and thence by descent within the same family. Old label, ’16 THC. Study Ex. O.C.S 1994 No. 25’, to base. A handwritten note by the collector, describing the present lot, recording its purchase from Sotheby’s, and noting related examples, accompanies this lot. John Burke da Silva CMG (1918-2003) joined the Foreign Office after the war. The job took him to many parts of the world. His love of Chinese porcelain stemmed from a posting to the Embassy in Rome in 1954, where he happened to stay in a rented flat that housed a large collection of Chinese and Japanese works of art. He studied the subject learning from books and visiting museums, eventually joining the Oriental Ceramics Society in 1960, and serving on their Council and as Honorary Treasurer until 1994.
Published: Jessica Harrison-Hall, A Research Display of 16th Century Chinese Ceramics from The Oriental Ceramic Society and The British Museum, 1994, no. 25, described as ‘Dish with barbed rim showing a feiyu. Late 15^th to early 16^th century. On loan from the Oriental Ceramic Society.’
Exhibited: British Museum, October - November 1994, A Research Display of 16th Century Chinese Ceramics from The Oriental Ceramic Society and The British Museum, no. 25.
Condition: Minor wear and firing flaws, such as kiln grit, glaze recesses, dark spots, firing cracks, and pitting. The rim with two small hairline cracks. Considering the age of this lot, the condition must be graded as excellent.

Weight: 1,487 g
Dimensions: Diameter 31.5 cm

Auction result comparison: Compare a related blue and white dish, with a Zhengde mark and of the period (1506-1521), with a similarly painted dragon, but of smaller size (21.2 cm diameter), at Christie’s New York, in Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, on 25 September 2020, lot 1548, sold for USD 93,750. Compare also a related barbed-rim blue and white dish, also dated to the 15^th-16^th century and of closely related form, at Sotheby’s New York, in Important Chinese Art, on 15 September 2015, lot 269, sold for USD 27,500.

十五世紀末至十六世紀初大型青花“飛魚”折沿菱口盤
中國，1480-1520年。菱口，折沿，淺弧壁，圈足。盤心繪矯健飛龍騰雲戲珠圖。內壁四組麗水紋，折沿之上繪以水紋，外壁繪一周仰蓮紋。紋飾繁複有致，俊秀中見疏闊之氣。

來源：倫敦蘇富比1966年4月 26日 lot 51；John Burke da Silva收藏，購於上述拍賣，自此保存在同一家族至今。底部有舊標簽 ’16 THC. Study Ex. O.C.S 1994 No. 25’；隨附一個是藏家手寫的注釋説明購於蘇富比拍賣以及一些相似例子。John Burke da Silva CMG (1918-2003) 戰後加入外交部，從而可以環游世界。 他對中國瓷器的熱愛源於 1954 年在羅馬大使館任職時期，當時他碰巧住在一間租來的公寓裡，樓裡面收藏了大量中國和日本的藝術品。他通過書本學習並參觀博物館，最終於 1960 年加入東方陶瓷學會，在其理事會任職並擔任名譽司庫直至 1994 年。
出版: Jessica Harrison-Hall, A Research Display of 16th Century Chinese Ceramics from The Oriental Ceramic Society and The British Museum, 1994, no. 25, 展覽目錄把這盤描述爲“飛魚菱口盤，十五世紀末至十六世紀初，借于東方陶瓷協會”
展覽: 大不列顛博物館，1994年10月至11月，A Research Display of 16th Century Chinese Ceramics from The Oriental Ceramic Society and The British Museum, no. 25.
品相：輕微的磨損和燒製缺陷，如窯砂、釉面凹陷、黑斑、燒製裂紋和麻點。 邊緣有兩條細小的裂紋。 考慮到這個盤子的年齡，這個狀況應該還是極爲優秀。

重量：1,487 克
尺寸：直徑31.5 厘米

拍賣結果比較：一件正德款及年代 (1506-1521) 的相似龍紋的青花盤，尺寸稍小 (直徑21.2 厘米)，見紐約佳士得Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2020年9月 25日 lot 1548, 售價USD 93,750；一件十五至十六世紀相似的青花菱口盤見紐約蘇富比 Important Chinese Art 2015年9月15 日 lot 269, 售價USD 27,500。