AN EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE AND RARE CARVED CELADON-GLAZED 'DRAGON' VASE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

of monumental size, the ovoid body rising from a splayed foot and sweeping up to a waisted neck, the exterior crisply carved overall in varying levels of relief with a lively and unusual scene of five three-clawed dragons, the principal dragon centered and full-frontal flanked by four striding dragons, with front claws clasping long lingzhi stems, with the central dragon grasping a further lingzhi head in its mouth, the bodies finely detailed with small raised spots, all framed within a band of ruyi at the shoulder with a border of lotus lappets below and a pendent trefoil band at the foot, the neck encircled by a broad band of upright stylized plantain leaves, covered overall with a watery celadon-green glaze, skillfully transmuting to white along the higher relief details and pooling to a sea-green in the recesses, the base unglazed, the reduced neck mounted in silver

Canadian private collection, acquired in the 19th century (by repute).

The neck reduced, as visible in catalogue photo, and mounted with a silver replacement. The neck appears to be off and re-stuck with associated chips and small losses. The neck also with an inverted V-shaped crack, with rivets, extending approximately 2/3rds up the neck, and extending to one side down the body, stopping approximately 4 cm above the base, with associated losses, some infilled. Otherwise with only minute glaze flakes and wear. The vase would greatly benefit from sympathetic modern restoration.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Striking for its impressive size and carved design which emerges under a cool celadon glaze, this vase draws on celebrated porcelain traditions and reinterprets them to result in a rare and engaging piece. The crisp celadon glaze displays the Qing emperors’ admiration of Longquan celadon wares of the Song period, and their efforts to replicate it. The carved motif, on the other hand, is highly unusual and appears to be an 18th century innovation that displays the technical proficiency of the craftsmen working at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, who created a rich and sumptuous effect by filling outlines with a multitude of small dots in order to depict the dragons’ scales. A similar motif is found on two blue and white vases with Qianlong marks and of the period, one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1968, vol. II, pl. 10, and the other sold at Christie’s London, 11th July 2006, lot 142; and on a double-gourd copper red vase, also with a Qianlong mark and of the period, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2010, lot 1867.

While no other celadon-glazed vase of this shape and size appears to have been published, a Qianlong mark and period vase of globular shape, carved with a similar motif of dragons and also with upright leaves on the neck and ruyi heads on the shoulder, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 137; a pear-shaped vase, in the Wang Xing Lou collection, is published in Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Emperors, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 71; and a globular vase, carved with dragon and phoenix, from the Ohlmer collection, in the Roemer Museum, Hildesheim, is illustrated in Chinesisches Porzellan, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, col. pl. 89.