Lot 70. An extremely rare blue and white double-gourd 'dragon' vase,  Jiaqing seal mark and period (1796-1820); 30.3 cm, 12 in. Estimate £200,000 - £300,000. Lot sold £586,000 (€671,147). © Sotheby's.

the upper bulb of slightly compressed globular form rising to a circular mouth, the large lower bulb of globular form and separated by a curved waist, finely painted in meticulous detail with a five-clawed dragon shown in full-frontal position encircling a 'flaming pearl', flanked by a further eight dragons amidst flames and swirling clouds and above turbulent rolling waves around the foot, their undulating scaly bodies prancing around the sides and captured in various poses, all below a ruyi band at the mouth rim, the base inscribed with the six-character seal mark in underglaze-blue.

Provenance: Collection of Gustav Detring (1842-1913) and thence by descent.

Note: Magnificently painted with nine dragons leaping through clouds above crashing waves, this vase boasts the formidable power of the Qing Empire. In its dynamic composition and skilfully painted design, it belongs to the early years of the Jiaqing Emperor’s reign, when the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen were still heavily influenced by the imperial patronage of the preceding Qianlong period. The vivacity of the cobalt blue, superbly rendered dragons and the impeccably finished body emphasise both the craftsmanship of the time and the splendour of the period. In its complex design, it also epitomises the importance of manipulating negative space in the overall composition to achieve balance and harmony.

Jiaqing vases of this type are rare and only two closely related examples appear to be known, both sold in our Hong Kong rooms, one, 11th April 2008, lot 2831, and the other, 31st October 1974, lot 199.  

An extremely rare blue and white 'dragon' double-gourd vase, seal mark and period of Jiaqing (1796-1820); 30 cm., 11 7/8 in. Sold for 5,031,500 HKD at Sotheby's HongKong, 11th April 2008, lot 2831. © Sotheby's.

Vases decorated with a central frontal dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl, and surrounded by secondary dragons, appear to have been a popular motif during the Jiaqing reign, appearing on a variety of pieces of various shapes; for example see two blue and white vases in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, one with a long cylindrical neck, included in the Museum’s exhibition Lord Jiaqing and the Journey to Taiwan: A Special Exhibition on Cultural Artifacts of the Qing Emperor Renzong, 2016, cat. no. III-36, and a globular example, published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. 2, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 93; and another one sold in these rooms, 2nd May 1995, lot 86.