AN EXTREMELY RARE MOLDED COPPER-RED-DECORATED 'DRAGON' AMPHORA VASE KANGXI MARK AND PERIOD |

the sides flaring from a narrow foot and rising to a slender, waisted neck with three raised fillets encircling the lower neck and silver-mounted everted rim, the lower body molded in low relief and incised with turbulent waves strewn with ribbon-like currents and plumes of sea spray, two sinuous dragons painted in liver-toned copper red rising formidably from the sea, their three-clawed paws outstretched and jaws open wide, the recessed base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). 

The shoulder with a large oval restored break (length approx. 7 cm) extending to longer cracks, plus a hairline crack down one side. The rim bound in metal. Please note that the metal rim has not been removed to examine the porcelain beneath.
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.

The present vase belongs to a small group of Kangxi-marked amphorae molded with dragons leaping from crashing waves. However, even within this rare type, this vase stands out as perhaps the only example in which the dragons are painted in underglaze-red against a molded white ground. By contrast, on other amphora vases of this type, both the dragons and the sea are molded, and the vase is covered entirely in celadon glaze. Celadon-glazed versions include an example in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Zhongguo meishu quanji: Gongyi meishu bian, taoci [Complete Collection of Chinese Art: Decorative Arts, Ceramics], vol. 3, Shanghai, pl. 157; one from the Jingguantang Collection, formerly in the collection of the Tsui Museum of Art, published in The Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics IV, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 3, and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 566; one sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th November 1979, lot 363; and another sold in the same rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 368.