A FINE AND MAGNIFICENT LARGE BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

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well potted of elongated pear shape with a swelling body sweeping up to a slender neck, exquisitely painted in vivid cobalt-blue with five sinuous five-clawed dragons animatedly posing in various positions around the vase amidst a dense lotus ground, all between a band of waves and pendant ruyi heads encircling the mouth and waves and 'classic' scroll skirting the foot, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue

Mrs. Christian Holmes Collection.
William H. Wolff, Inc., New York, January 1966.
Evelyn Annenberg-Hall Collection.
Christie's New York, 29th March 2006, lot 169. 

The overall condition is very good. There are two very minute pinholes on the rim. The colour is very vivid.
"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."

This magnificent dragon vase is especially fine for its elegant slender form and unusually large size. A related example painted with a similar design but with a mixed flower scroll rendered in underglaze red, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 209.

This piece belongs to a special group of vases produced during the Qianlong period, with elongated tall neck and pear-shaped body. Examples can be found in important museums and collections worldwide and each vase within the group appears to be uniquely decorated; for example see one painted with figures in a landscape, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated ibid., pl. 119; another decorated with a composite floral motif sold in these rooms, 2^nd May 1984; and a third example adorned with a flower scroll design in the Ming style, from the collection of Jolan Hennings, sold at Christie's New York, 9^th November 1978, lot 97, and again in these rooms, 25^th November 1981, lot 224.

The present vase is notable for its dynamic design of dragons amongst floral scrolls, a motif that is known from fifteenth century blue and white wares and which was revived under the Qianlong emperor. See a blue and white tianqiuping decorated with dragons and scrolling lotus, illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 72; and a hu vase sold in these rooms, 16^th May 1989, lot 271; and another sold in our London rooms, 9^th November 2000, lot 327. The effectiveness of the overall design of the present vase is also due to the brilliant deep blue cobalt, which reflects the high level of technical achievement attained by the craftsman.

Vessels of this form were also made covered in monochrome glaze; for example see a large Qianlong flambé-glazed vase, in the Nanjing Museum, included in Zhongguo Qingdai guanyao  ciqi, Shanghai, 2003, p. 345; another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, pl. 345; and a third flambé-glazed vase decorated in gilt with a floral motif, from the Qing Court collection is illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 393, pl. 74.