Lot 112. A rare small blue and white 'dragon' double-gourd vase, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566);  10.7 cm, 4 1/8  in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 562,500 HKD (64,836 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's 

finely potted with a globular lower bulb surmounted by a smaller upper bulb with an incurved mouthrim, all supported on a countersunk base, the upper bulb decorated in rich tones of cobalt-blue with a pair of five-clawed dragons soaring amidst flaming wisps and ruyi-shaped clouds, the lower bulb similarly decorated with a pair of striding dragons above crashing waves, the foot bordered with a band of ruyi lappets, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark. 

Note: This type of small double-gourd vase from the Jiajing period is rare and only a handful of examples with the same decoration is known. See one example from the Qing Court collection and still preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 84. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art: The Collection of a Parisian Connoisseur, Part III. Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 11:30 AM