Lot 647. A blue and white 'dragon' jar, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1619). Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 937,500 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's;

of barrel shape, vividly painted around the exterior in bright tones of cobalt with four five-clawed dragons striding amongst clouds above a wavy sea, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle enclosed in a recessed medallion, wood stand and japanese lacquer cover and box - 15.5 cm, 6 1/8  in.

Provenance: A private Japanese collection.

Notes: A closely related vessel, but of slightly larger size and with cover, was sold in these rooms, 31st October 1974, lot 83; and a wucai version, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 13, pt. II, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 120. Two wucai jars and covers of this form, but decorated with mythical beasts in a landscape, were sold in these rooms, the first from the collection of Iver Munthe Daae, sold 1st November 1994, lot 54, and the second, 5th October 2016, lot 110. Compare also a slightly smaller cylindrical cricket jar similarly decorated with dragons, but above a band of lappets and short foot, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 155.

Wucai ‘dragon and clouds’ box and cover, Ming dynasty. After: Lu Minghua, Shanghai Bowuguan cangpin yanjiu daxi/Studies of the Shanghai Museum Collections: A. Series of Monographs. Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 3-104.

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Wucai ‘mythical beast’ box and cover, mark and period of Wanli. Collection of Iver Munthe Daae, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 1st November 1994, lot 54. Photo: Sotheby's

An outstanding and rare wucai 'mythical beast' jar and cover, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1619).  Sold 11,840,000 HKD at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5th October 2016, lot 110. Photo: Sotheby's.

The use of these drum-shaped vessels is not fully known; while some were probably made as cricket cages, others may have been used by the Wanli Emperor as containers for chess pieces. Due to the size of the present piece, it was probably too large for chess pieces and is more likely to have been used as a cricket jar.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 02 Dec 2016