A FINE AND VERY RARE LARGE BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' CIRCULAR BOX AND COVER

THE PROPERTY OF A FAR EASTERN COLLECTOR

細節

A FINE AND VERY RARE LARGE BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' CIRCULAR BOX AND COVER
QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER SEALMARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Strongly potted, the box and cover are of compressed globular form, the top surface of the cover with a slightly domed circular medallion incised with a powerful full-faced five-claw dragon and a 'flaming pearl' amidst flame-scrolls, surrounded by underglaze-blue painted cloud scrolls, the curved sides with a pair of incised dragons striding through blue clouds, the design repeated on the side of the box above crashing waves and a classic scroll around the foot
13 7/8 in. (35.3 cm.) diam., box

拍品專文

No other box of this design appears to be known.

The blue-tinged glaze has pooled in the carved lines of the design so that the details of the dragon are clearly visible. Although this box appears to be unique, it is reminiscent of the reverse-decorated dragon vases from the Yongzheng period. The closest comparison in style is a baluster vase with an incised dragon gambolling through underglaze-blue clouds, illustrated in Selected Porcelain of the Flourishing Qing Dynasty at the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1994, p. 163, pl. 7. A meiping with a moulded and incised dragon leaping through waves on a predominantly blue background is also in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and is illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 178, pl. 7; cf. also pl. 23 for the copper-red version of this vase.