A large imperial celadon-glazed 'dragon' chargerYongzheng seal mark and of the period
The interior well moulded and carved in low relief to the centre with a three-clawed chilong leaping amidst ruyi cloud-scrolls within a raised roundel, the exterior carved with a band of overlapping petals below the everted rim, covered overall with an even bluish-green glaze thinning on the raised decoration to highlight the carving, the foot rim with a dark brown dressing, the base with the six-character mark. 49.5cm (19 1/2in) diam.注脚清雍正 粉青釉雲龍紋大盤 青花「大清雍正年製」篆書款

Provenance:
Ludwik Rajchman (1881-1965), great-grandfather of the present owner, and by descent through the family

來源：
路德維克·萊赫曼（1881-1965），現藏家之曾祖父，後由家族繼承

The present charger belongs to a collection probably purchased by Ludwik Rajchman in the early 1930s in China, when he was serving as first Director of the League of Nations Health Organisation (1921-1938).

A bacteriologist by training in his homeland, Poland, Rajchman was very active in his early career in the fight against several waves of a typhus epidemic which was devastating Eastern Europe. For this success, he was identified as an important medical coordinator by the League of Nations, which appointed him in 1921 to set up a Health Organization for the League of Nations based in Europe. As part of his innovative international medical programmes, he visited China regularly, and played an important role in helping the Chinese establish a quarantine system on the China/Japan border. He was held in great esteem by the Chinese for his services to improving health at all levels of the Chinese population during the 1920s and '30s. He was a close friend of the wife and family of T. V Soong, the Chinese Minister of Finance, who became head of the Bank of China during the Second World War. (T.V Soong's sister Mei-Ling would later marry President Chiang Kai-Shek).

As a direct result of his friendship with the major political figures in China during the later years of the Republic, Ludwik Rajchman was detested by the victorious Chinese Communist factions. After the War, therefore, he turned his attention to new challenges. When the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration announced at a United Nations meeting in Geneva that it would be putting an end to its relief efforts, Rajchman objected vociferously and called for the creation of a Fund dedicated to helping children throughout the world. His proposal was accepted and by the beginning of 1947, the new body called UNICEF was already helping children, notably in nutrition and immunization. Rajchman remained Chairman of the Board at UNICEF until 1950 and refused to be paid for his work.

此件粉青釉大盤由路德維克·萊赫曼1930年代購於中國，其時，他正擔任國際聯盟衛生組織董事一職（1921-1938）。

萊赫曼在波蘭出生並接受教育，是著名的細菌學家，早期致力於攻克肆虐東歐的流行性傷寒。因為他在這一領域的巨大成功，1921年，國際聯盟指派萊赫曼在歐洲組建國際聯盟衛生組織。他經常到訪中國，協助在中滿邊境設立檢疫系統，是為其國際醫療項目的一部分。1920年代及30年代間，萊氏在華頗受尊重，蓋因其創舉全面提高了中國民眾的健康水平。萊赫曼亦是宋子文家族的密友，後者乃民國財政部長，在二戰期間且擔任中國銀行主席一職。宋氏一家顯赫當時，華人盡知其事，此不贅述。

由於和民國權貴過從甚密，萊赫曼在華後期飽受親共派系攻訐，於是戰後他回到歐洲致力新的挑戰。彼時聯合國善後救濟總署在日內瓦宣布行將解散，然而萊氏四處奔走，大聲疾呼設立一個基金會以幫助全球兒童。1947年初，他的提議最終被聯合國接受，聯合國兒童基金會由此創立，旨在幫助全球兒童，著重於保證他們的營養和免疫接種。萊赫曼擔任基金會主席一職至1950年，期間他分文不取。

The present lot belongs to a known group of celadon-glazed porcelain specially commissioned by the Qing Court to cater to the Yongzheng emperor's taste for archaistic monochrome wares. The design of the dragon in relief with a band of overlapping petals and the smooth blue-green glaze resembles the pale celadon-glazed Longquan wares of similar designs made in the 12th and 13th centuries; see a detailed discussion by J.Ayers in The Baur Collection: Chinese Ceramics, vol.III, Geneva, 1972, no.A360.

Compare with a very similar example (48.6cm diam.) in the National Museum of China, illustrated in Studies of the Collections of the National Museum of China: Ceramics (Qing dynasty), Shanghai, 2007, no.63; and another (49.8cm diam.) from the Avery Brundage Collection, in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (acc.no.B60P1490); see also a similar but smaller example (47cm diam.) in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (acc.no.F1978.46), illustrated by M.Beurdeley and G.Raindre, Qing Porcelain, London, 1987, p.167, fig.231.

A very similar example of identical size and design, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2008, lot 2526; and a smaller example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2011, lot 3304.

盤敞口，折沿，弧壁，圈足。盤心淺浮雕如意雲龍紋，外壁印蓮瓣紋一周。此盤器形周正，紋飾雅緻，釉色均勻，雍容大氣。

單色釉因對窯火溫度控制要求嚴格，燒製難度高，而雍正一朝所燒製單色釉可謂最佳。此件大盤釉色、紋飾及尺寸均受宋代龍泉青瓷影響，反應雍正皇帝尊古、簡約、含蓄的審美眼光。有關龍泉青瓷對景德鎮御窯廠之影響的討論，見J. Ayers，《鮑爾收藏中國瓷器》，卷三，日內瓦，1972年，編號A360。

國家博物館藏有尺寸及紋飾類似一例（直徑48.6厘米），見《中國國家博物館館藏文物研究叢書：瓷器卷（清代）》，上海，2007年，編號63。另見Avery Brundage舊藏一例（直徑49.8厘米），現藏於舊金山亞洲藝術博物館（博物館編號B60P1490）。華盛頓佛利爾美術館藏一件粉青大盤亦資參考，其尺寸稍小（直徑47厘米），見M. Beurdeley及G. Raindre著，《Qing Porcelain》，倫敦，1987年，頁167，圖231。

於拍賣售出之例子，另一例為趙從衍家族基金會收藏，曾於香港藝術館1978年舉辦《Ming & Ch'ing Porcelain》展覽中展出，見圖錄圖版46號，後售於香港蘇富比，1987年5月19日，拍品編號286。另見香港蘇富比曾售出一例，尺寸與本品相同，2008年10月8日，拍品編號2526；香港佳士得亦曾售出一例，2011年11月30日，拍品編號3304。