Lot 349. A famille rose 'Sages' vase, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795). Height 20 in., 50.8 cm. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 USD. Lot sold 221,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

of ovoid form, the waisted neck encircled by a bowstring band below the galleried rim, the body with two opposing ogee-form panels, one painted with a sage artist whose realistic painting of a dragon has come to life and flown away, to the astonishment of his attendant, the other with a sage poet being offered a cup of wine by his attendant, both panels reserved against a green sgraffito ground incorporating scattered blossoms including sprigs of morning glory, magnolia, lotus, prunus and camellia, six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Note: There are a number of artists in Chinese history who are purported to have painted dragons so life-like that once their eyes were dotted, they did indeed come to life and fly away, among them Gu Kaizhi, Wu Daozi and Zhang Sengyou. There are also many poets who composed their best work while inebriated, the most famous among them being Li Bai.