Lot Essay
Cloisonne enamel wares decorated with chilong dragons, though not very common, have been seen since the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). See for example a 16th century cloisonne dish and 17th century melon-shaped vase bearing the chilong motif illustrated by C. Brown, Chinese Cloisonne: The Clague Collection, Phoenix, 1980, pl. 10 and 29. However no other meiping with chilong dragons appear to have been published. It is also very unusual to find cloisonne meiping with handles suspending loose rings, making the present pair of vases exceptionally rare.