Lot 3018. A fine and rare large blue-glazed dragon-handle vase, hu, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 18 ½ in. (47 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 2,600,000 - HKD 4,000,000 (USD 335,316 - USD 515,871) © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The vase is sturdily potted with a full pear-shaped body tapering to a straight neck. The shoulders are set with a pair of stylised dragon handles. The exterior is covered with an even sapphire-blue glaze, the interior and base with a clear glaze.

Note: Qianlong vases of this size and form are usually decorated in the famille rose palette with the classic ‘Hundred Deer’ motif, such as the one from the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pp. 98-99, pl. 85. There are also other examples in various glaze colours and blue and white decorations, including a Ru-type glazed example (36 cm.) with slightly different dragon handles in the Huaihaitang Collection, illustrated in Ethereal Elegance: Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing, The Huaihaitang Collection, Hong Kong, 2007, pl. 25; a white-glazed example (45 cm.) sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 October 2001, lot 835; and a blue and white example decorated with scrolling lotus (45.7 cm.), sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 24 November 1987, lot 74.

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2017, Convention Hall