China, 1662-1722. Each with deep rounded sides supported on a short foot and rising to an everted rim, the exterior finely incised with two five-clawed dragons amid flames and clouds, reserved on the biscuit and covered with green enamel, the interior similarly decorated with three clouds.

Provenance: From an old German private collection, acquired in 1980 and thence by descent in the same family. German trade, acquired from the above.
Condition: Excellent condition with only very minor old wear and some firing irregularities.

Weight: 338 g and 345.9 g (excl. stands)
Dimensions: Diameter 18.7 and 18.9 cm

The recessed bases each with an apocryphal underglaze-blue six-character mark da Ming Chenghua nianzhi within a double circle.

Each bowl with a finely carved zitan stand, dating from the Qing dynasty. (4)

Imperial porcelain bowls decorated with green-enameled dragons first appeared in the Chenghua period, with and sometimes without reign marks, and either enameled with dragons over the glaze or over the biscuit. More were manufactured in later periods of the Ming dynasty, particularly during the Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns, where they were always inscribed with their corresponding reign marks. This motif, which is also found on matching saucer dishes, required each vessel to be fired twice: First the design was incised on the biscuit and covered with a layer of wax, which would melt during the first firing and reveal the pinkish buff body underneath. This was later filled with green enamel and fired a second time at a much lower temperature. The result is rather spectacular, because the dragons appear as if they are literally leaping off the surface of the bowls.

Literature comparison:
For the Chenghua prototype of this design, see two bowls with dragons enameled over the biscuit silhouettes, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Chenghua ciqi tezhan (Special Exhibition of Ch’eng-Hua Porcelain Ware), Taipei, 2003, cat. nos. 110 and 111. Porcelain wares decorated with green dragons continued to be produced in the Qing dynasty, from the Kangxi to the Guangxu reigns, such as a dish with an apocryphal Hongzhi mark, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Miscellaneous Enameled Porcelains, Plain Tricolour Porcelains. The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum, Shanghai, 2009, pl. 75. Furthermore, compare with entry 5 in Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition, Qing Porcelain from Private Collections.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 20 February 2020, lot 134
Price: GBP 23,750 or approx. EUR 31,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A green-enameled ‘dragon’ bowl, 18^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, incised and green-enameled dragon design, apocryphal Ming reign mark, and near-identical size (18.4 cm)



康熙一對明代風格綠釉龍紋碗
中國，1662-1722年。敞口，略外撇，深弧腹，圈足。外壁暗刻綠釉一對五爪龍，雲中戲珠；碗中三朵綠色雲紋。

來源：德國私人老收藏，於 1980 年入藏，並由同一家族繼承；德國古玩交易，購於上述收藏。
品相：狀況極佳，只有非常輕微的磨損和一些燒製不規則現象。

重量：分別為338 克與 345.9 克 (不含底座)
尺寸：直徑 18.7與18.9 厘米

圈足內青花“大明成化年製”。

每個碗都有一個精雕細刻的紫檀座，可追溯至清代。(4)

綠釉龍紋碗最早出現於成化年間，有或無年號，或在釉上或在素胎上繪龍紋。明朝後期，特別是弘治、正德年間，多會使用相應的年號。龍紋也出現在配套的碟子上，每個容器都需要燒製兩次：首先，將設計刻在素胎上並覆蓋一層蠟，在第一次燒製時蠟會融化，露出下面的淺黃色體 。之後用綠釉填充，並在低溫下進行第二次燒製。龍看起來栩栩如生。

文獻比較：
此設計的成化原型，見兩個碗，上面有琺瑯彩龍，收藏於臺北故宮博物院，《故宮成化瓷器精選》，臺北，2003年，圖錄編號110和111。清代從康熙至光緒年間持續出產綠龍紋瓷器，例如一件北京故宮博物院偽弘治款瓷盤，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集》，上海，2009年，圖75。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦佳士得，2020年2月20日，lot 134
價格：GBP 23,750（相當於今日EUR 31,000）
描述：清十八世紀白地綠彩五爪龍紋碗
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形、淺刻和綠色琺瑯彩龍紋，偽弘治款，以及幾乎相同的尺寸(18.4 厘米)。