Lot 3688. An incised yellow-glazed 'Dragon' vase, Qing dynasty, Jiaqing period (1796-1820);  31.4 cm., 12 3/8  in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,000,000 HKD (91,965 — 114,956 EUR). Lot sold 1,000,000 HKD (114,956 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

the ovoid body rising from a spreading foot to a tall waisted neck with a slightly incurved rim, incised with four ferocious dragons leaping from turbulent foaming waves contesting for a flaming pearl amongst cloud scrolls and flame wisps, the rim and the foot encircled with a band of circles, covered overall with a rich egg-yolk yellow glaze.

Provenance: Hancocks, London.
Collection of Major M.H. Soames, until 1954.
Sotheby's London, 29th June 1954, lot 164.
Sotheby's London, 7th November 2012, lot 422.

Exhibition: Monochrome Porcelain of the Ming and Manchu Dynasties, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1948, cat. no. 164.

Note: The present vase belongs to a distinct group of yellow-glazed vases with incised decoration created during the Jiaqing reign. Jiaqing vases of this type but of various forms, similarly decorated with dragons, include a pear-shaped example from the Huaihaitang collection, included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. 55; another with tubular handles, included in the exhibition From the Dragon’s Treasure, Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1987, cat. no. 2; a tianqiuping included in the exhibition The World in Monochromes, Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 2009, cat. no. 185; and another sold in these rooms, 29th April 1997, lot 602. See also a Jiaqing mark and period vase decorated with a flower scroll, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Qingdai dansi you ciqi [Monochrome Porcelains of the Qing Dynasty], Taipei, 1981, cat. no. 35.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 07 oct. 2015, 02:30 PM