AN UNUSUAL CHAMPLEVE ENAMEL GARLIC-HEAD 'DRAGON' VASE QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

the pear-shaped bottle-form vase with waisted neck encircled by a ring, the faceted and lobed 'garlic-head' below a waisted mouth with straight everted lip, all on a spreading stepped foot, the body and top of the foot decorated with dense lotus scrolls in colourful champlevé enamels against a semi-matte gilt ground, the neck with a band of leiwen, the lip with dots, the edge of the foot with thin borders of scrollwork and rings, the neck and body encircled by a gilded qilong

Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 2001, lot 606.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

The vase is overall in good condition. There are scattered minor casting flaws to the metal, moderate wear to the gilding, and a few scattered small pits to enamel, typical of the medium. There are a few scattered minor flakes to the enamel, and a few scattered minor dings to the extremities of the metal.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Champlevé vases of this form and decoration are extremely rare.  No other examples appear to be published.  A cloisonne vase of identical form and similar lotus scroll decoration and borders, without an applied dragon, was sold in our New York rooms 24th October 1980, lot 145. 

The form of the present vase is closely related to bronze bottle-vases with garlic-mouth and entwined dragon around the neck attributed to the 17th / 18th century, such as those illustrated in Rose Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, pl. 29, p. 42.  A similar bronze vase from the Collection of Heber R. Bishop, with garlic-mouth, ring around the neck and encircled by a dragon, attributed to the Qianlong period, and exhibited at the National Academy of Design, New York, in 1893, was sold at The American Art Galleries, New York, 17th-27th January 1906, lot 2024. 

The use of serpentine dragon/panther-like creatures clambering over a vessel may ultimately be traced to bronzes of the Western and Eastern Zhou periods, with their utilisation of stylised sinuous animals as handles and applied ornament, and the form of the bottle-vase with garlic-mouth may be traced to vessels of the late Eastern Zhou period, such as the example illustrated in Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 1995, vol. III, no. 52, p. 289. The form of the qilong with elongated serpentine tail as applied ornament appears to have been well established by the Yuan period, as may be seen in the use of such creatures to form the handles of vessels recovered from a shipwreck off the coast of Korea, dated to the first half of the 14th century, illustrated in Special Exhibition of Cultural Relics Found off Sinan Coast, Seoul, 1977, nos. 182-186.  The lasting popularity of this form is illustrated by a later Dehua 'blanc de chine' porcelain vase of similar form, with a qilong grasping a lingzhi in its jaws, encircling the neck of the vessel, attributed to the late 17th / early 18th century, is illustrated in Robert H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine. The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 152(a).

While the technique, palatte, and ornamentation of the present vase are distinctly Qing, the form of the vase and use of stylised dragon are clear references to 'antique' antecedants, in keeping with decorative trends of the late 18th century, which often melded the past and the present in a highly decorative synthesis.

Compare a cloisonné garlic-mouth vase decorated with Buddhist symbols among lotus scrolls, the neck with encircling dragon, attributed to the late Ming dynasty, from the Qing court collection, illustrated in Metal-Bodied Enamel Wares. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong 2002, no. 56, p. 58. Another cloisonné bottle vase, with cylindrical mouth, attributed to the 15th / 16th century, decorated with Ming-style lotus scrolls and with an applied gilt qilong encircling the neck (the mounts attributed to the 17th / 18th century), was sold at Christie's London, 12th June, 1989, lot 62.  Another cloisonné bottle vase, decorated with shou characters on a diaper ground, with neck encircled by a dragon, removed from the Imperial Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, Beijing, in 1860, was sold at Christie's London, 9th July 1985, lot 108.  A related cloisonné small bowl attributed to the Qianlong period, decorated with floral scrolls and with applied gilt qilong to the lip and sides, was sold at Christie's New York, 29th March, 2006, lot 302.  Compare also a cloisonné vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing with elaborate gilt mounts in the form of two dragons contesting a pearl, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji, vol. 10, no. 332, p. 184.