A RARE YELLOW-GROUND IRON-RED ENAMELLED STEM CUP MARK AND PERIOD OF JIAJING

the deep rounded sides resting on a flared foot and rising to an everted rim, the exterior finely enamelled with iron-red outlines painted over in a brighter iron-red on a rich yellow ground with two striding five-clawed dragons in mutual pursuit divided by cloud scrolls below the rim, above six cranes in mid-flight among swirling clouds above a lotus lappet border, with further cranes flying above a band of overlapping upright leaves on the stem, the interior painted in underglaze blue with a central shou character enclosed within a double circle below a double band at the rim, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze-blue

Collection of a Japanese Pharmaceutical Company.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 10th April 2006, lot 1783.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1685.

There is a 1 cm shallow glaze frit on the rim that has been polished. The enamelling at the top of the stem near the joint to the cup has a minute area of about 2 mm which has possibly been retouched. The foot has a shallow firing crack near the mark. The enamelling is in very good condition with only a little light wear to to the red.
"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."

Since the Jiajing Emperor was a keen supporter of Daoist ideas, Daoist motifs proliferate in this period. The combination seen here, of imperial five-clawed dragons with Daoist motifs – cranes as a symbol of long life – is, however, most unusual. Two-colour glaze combinations are also characteristic of the Jiajing reign, but red pieces with designs reserved in yellow are more common than yellow vessels with red decoration, and the combination with underglaze blue is also exceptional.

Compare a small bowl of Jiajing mark and period from the George Eumorfopoulos collection, now in the British Museum, London, painted in a similar colour combination with a dragon on the inside and boys in a garden setting on the outside, published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, no. 9:91, together with an oblong Jiajing box from the Oscar Raphael collection, painted with cranes and trigrams in red on yellow, no. 9:92.