Lot 2121. A magnificent blue and white cylindrical vase and cover, Yongzheng six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1723-1735); 11 3/8 in. (28.9 cm.) high overall, wood stand. Estimate HK$5,000,000 - HK$8,000,000 ($648,163 - $1,037,061). Price realised HKD 11,860,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2012

The cylindrical body is painted with two dragons, one ascending and other descending, amidst cloud scrolls and above rolling waves encircling the base. The shoulder is decorated with a band of overlapping leaves that surrounds the narrow neck. The upper-facing surface of the cover is designed with three cloud scrolls centred by a bud-shaped finial, and the vertical sides of the cover with a band of spirals. 

Provenance: J. Insley Blair (1870-1939) and thence by descent to the present owners

Literature: The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. XII, no. 62.

Note: It is exceedingly rare for vases to retain their original covers. An identical covered vase of this size and pattern is in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, illustrated by Lu Chenglong, Qingdai Yuyao Ciqi, juan 1, Zijingcheng chubanshe, 2005, p. 101, no. 39 (fig. 1). This type of dragon vases may have been fashioned after the Kangxi examples of similar design, although the image of the dragon itself is very similar to those found on blue and white ceramics from the Ming dynasty Jiajing period. Compare to a related Kangxi-marked vase formerly in the J.M. Hu Family Collection, sold at Sotheby's New York, 4 June 1985, lot 23; and sold again from the Robert Chang Collection, Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1317. The Kangxi-marked example features a pair of horned dragons against a white background whilst the later Yongzheng vases have the additional designs of clouds and rolling waves.

fig. 1. A blue and white cylindrical vase and cover, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735) in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection.

Compare to two related Yongzheng-marked covered vases of this cylindrical shape but both decorated with sprays of fruit and flowers. The first is in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, illustrated in Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book I, CAFA Hong Kong, 1968, pl. 11; and the other is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, 2000, p. 118, no. 104. The cover of the National Palace example is identical in design to the cover of the present lot. Another cylindrical vase without a cover and decorated in the Ming style with a design of foliate meander below a narrow band of classic scroll encircling the neck was sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2001, lot 237.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 28 November 2012. Hong Kong