Provenance:Private English Collection.Note:Following the passing of the Chinese emperor Xuande and the empowerment of the Empress Dowager as regent, the interregnum period of blank ceramics commenced. With the implementation of an edict banning the production of blue and white wares, which had flourished in production and use under the emperor Xuande, Empress Dowager promoted a new style in ceramics. Following her passing and the succession of Chenghua we encounter not only a revival in the production of blue and white wares but a period where it can be argued that it reached its zenith, as it is considered the main rival to Xuande wares. The earlier pieces, still with the darker imported cobalt remaining from Xuande, show transition into the lighter blues of locally mined cobalt that the period is more known for. The locally mined cobalt was more malleable to prepare and apply, resulting in the replacement of the 'heaped and piled' effect to a much softer and even toned greyish blue. Comparatively very few pieces of Chenghua wares bear the reign mark of the period. However, examples such as the present dish with the Chenghua reign mark allow us to understand that it was accorded official approval and intended for Imperial use with the dragons all endowed with five claws.For further reading, see D. Macintosh (1994): Chinese Blue and White Porcelain.