A RARE IRON-RED AND YELLOW 'DRAGON' JAR JIAJING MARK AND PERIOD |

the compressed baluster body rising from a recessed base to a short straight neck, boldly painted around the body and shoulders with two sinuous scaly yellow dragons striding amidst leafy scrolling ruyi, all between rocks and waves at the base and ruyi clouds at the shoulder and reserved on a rich dark iron-red ground, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue, carved wood stand, Japanese wood box 

A Japanese Private Collection.
Sotheby's London, 14th May 2014, lot 287.

Chūgoku tōji meihou ten, Gotoh Museum, Tokyo, 1955.

The jar is in good condition with the exception of two short hairline rim cracks and a glaze crack running inside the rim, all with over-painting to the interior of the neck and rim, a three-pointed star crack to the base and scratches and rubbing to the iron-red decoration.
"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."

Jars of this type are known in important museum and private collections; compare a jar in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, included in the exhibition, In Pursuit of the Dragon, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1988, cat. no. 44; another example is illustrated in Iron in the Fire, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1988, cat. no. 6; yet another jar, formerly in the Avery Brundage Collection and now in the in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, is published in He Li, Chinese Ceramics. The New Standard Guide, London, 1996, pl. 483; and a fourth example from the Meiyintang collection, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 706, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 7^th April 2011, lot 66.