A LARGE WELL-PAINTED DOUCAI MOON FLASK
A LARGE WELL-PAINTED DOUCAI MOON FLASK

QIANLONG SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD

Details
A LARGE WELL-PAINTED DOUCAI MOON FLASK
Qianlong Seal Mark in Underglaze Blue and of the Period
Each side painted in shaded iron-red with a five-clawed, full-face dragon leaping amidst multicolored clouds in pursuit of a gilt flaming pearl above a band of froth-capped waves, with bats interspersed amidst the clouds on the narrow sides, waisted pedestal foot and neck between the pair of iron-red dragon scroll handles, with gilt highlights throughout, the interior of the neck covered in an opaque turquoise glaze, as is the interior of the foot surrounding the nianhao
19in. (50.2cm.)
Provenance
Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 8 November 1980, lot 218

Lot Essay

A pair of doucai moonflasks of this design and unusually large size were included in the recent exhibition, 100 Masterpieces of Imperial Chinese Ceramics from the Au Bak Ling Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 17 November - 20 December 1998 and illustrated in The Asian Art Newspaper, November 1998, p. 12.