QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A SUPERB MASSIVE CARVED AND MOULDED ‘DRAGON’ VASE
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
The baluster vase is crisply carved and moulded in relief on the exterior with five three-clawed dragons each grasping a lingzhi branch, with the central dragon grasping a further lingzhi head in its mouth, their bodies finely detailed with small raised spots, between a band of ruyi heads at the shoudlers and a band of upright petals below and a band of pendent trefoil around the foot. The neck is encircled by a wide band of upright plantain leaves. The vase is covered overall in an even sea-green glaze with the exception of the recessed base. The mouth is bound by a silver mount.
31 1/4 in. (79.5 cm.) high

Provenance

A Canadian private collection, acquired in the 19th century, by repute
Sold at Sotheby’s New York, 14 September 2016, lot 253

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The quality of the carving and moulding on the present vase is especially crisp, which is only found on imperial porcelain of the highest quality during this period. Compare a celadon-glazed basin (46.5 cm. high) carved and moulded in a similar style with a pair of dragons in pursuit of a flaming pearl dated to the Yongzheng period in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 149, no. 135. Compare also with a Qianlong-marked blue and white vase in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, painted with nine dragons similarly with dots on their bodies, illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1968, vol. II, no. 10.

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