the shallow flaring rounded sides supported on a tapered foot, softly painted in deep blue with a spray of gardenias with two blooms and two buds in the centre, enclosed on the cavetto with a spray of pomegranate bearing two ripe skin-bursting fruit, a spray of crab apple with a blossom and two fruit, a bunch of grapes on a vine and a lotus flower and pod tied with a ribbon, the exterior with a continuous scroll of roses, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in a double circle

Collection of Sir Harry Garner.
Collection of Ira and Nancy Koger.
Sotheby's New York, 27th November 1990, lot 3.
The Meiyintang collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4th April 2012, lot 42.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, 1985, no. 71.
The Jacksonville Art Museum, Florida, 1987, no. 71.
Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/ Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 124.

John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics. The Koger Collection, London, 1985, no. 71.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 682.

The rim has an approx. 4 cm hairline crack. The cobalt smudges in a few places and there are light glaze scratches, but it is otherwise in overall good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

After the Chenghua reign, production at the imperial porcelain kilns appears to have been drastically reduced, Hongzhi blue and white porcelain of any kind is particularly rare. Only four other dishes have ever been sold at auction, all decorated with dragons, all sold at Sotheby’s: one from the Hay collection in London, 25th June 1946, lot 46; one from the Eumorfopoulos collection in London, 29th May 1940, lot 212; another in London, 3rd December 1963, lot 103 and one in Hong Kong, 29th April 1997, lot 548.

The gardenia (zhizi) is a flower very rar🍌ely depicted on Chinese ceramics and known almost exclusively from the present design. It is not immediately associated with any auspicious meaning, but the highly fragrant flowers were popular with ladies to wear in the♏ hair, and were used for flavouring tea and for preparing cosmetics, and the small fruits of the plant were coveted for dyeing – producing a fine yellow or orange colour – as well as for their medicinal benefits.

The present design is much better known in blue and yellow; compare a dish formerly in the collection of Sir Percival David (1892-1964), sold in our London rooms, 15th October 1968, lot 108, and recently again in these rooms, 5th April 2017, lot 2, from the collection of Maureen Pilkington (1928-2011); another dish from the Reach Family collection and later also the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Krahl, loc. cit., vol. 4, no. 1674, and sold in these rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 57; as well as blue-and-yellow examples of the Zhengde (AD 1506-1521) and Jiajing (AD 1522-1566) reigns in the Meiyintang collection, in Krahl, loc. cit., vol. 2, nos 683 and 684.