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Lot Essay
This vase is finely painted in rich cobalt blue tones around the broad baluster body and trumpet neck with a pair of five-clawed scaly dragons in pursuit of a flaming pearl. One dragon is writhing amidst rocks and foaming waves while the other is in flight above the waves amidst ruyi cloud and fire scrolls. The base is inscribed with a six-character mark in regular script within a double-circle in underglaze blue.
In the quest to justify their right to the throne of China as a foreign dynasty, the Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty often commissioned works of art to reflect their power and beneficence. In both its shape and decoration, the present vase immediately references great works of art of the past, with the dragon yielding an impressive evocation of imperial grandeur. As emblem of the Emperor’s majestic and benevolent rule, the dragon had a long tradition in China. Dragons adorned every room of the Qing palace and the image of the five-clawed dragon can be considered the ultimate reflection of the Yongzheng emperor’s imperial splendor.
The present vase is notable for the harmonious composition of dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls. In Chinese cultural imagery, the dragon is a symbol of the beneficent emperor, and often depicted emerging from the crested waves and flying among the clouds as it rises from winter hibernation at the spring equinox and brings rain to water the crops. A similar-sized Qianlong vase with globular body, decorated with nine dragons amongst clouds in underglaze blue, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, no. 118.
Compare a related blue and white Yongzheng-marked covered dragon vase of cylindrical shape from the J. Insley Blair Collection, illustrated in The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. XII, no. 62, sold at Chirstie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2121.
In the quest to justify their right to the throne of China as a foreign dynasty, the Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty often commissioned works of art to reflect their power and beneficence. In both its shape and decoration, the present vase immediately references great works of art of the past, with the dragon yielding an impressive evocation of imperial grandeur. As emblem of the Emperor’s majestic and benevolent rule, the dragon had a long tradition in China. Dragons adorned every room of the Qing palace and the image of the five-clawed dragon can be considered the ultimate reflection of the Yongzheng emperor’s imperial splendor.
The present vase is notable for the harmonious composition of dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls. In Chinese cultural imagery, the dragon is a symbol of the beneficent emperor, and often depicted emerging from the crested waves and flying among the clouds as it rises from winter hibernation at the spring equinox and brings rain to water the crops. A similar-sized Qianlong vase with globular body, decorated with nine dragons amongst clouds in underglaze blue, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, no. 118.
Compare a related blue and white Yongzheng-marked covered dragon vase of cylindrical shape from the J. Insley Blair Collection, illustrated in The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. XII, no. 62, sold at Chirstie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2121.