Lot 899. A very rare famille-verte 'dragon-carp' moonflask, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 10 1/4  in., 26 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Lot sold 37,500 USD. © Sotheby's

elegantly potted with a flattened spherical body rising to a waisted neck and a pear-shaped upper bulb, set with two strap handles each accentuated by a central raised ridge and a leaf-shaped terminal, the convex circular sides each painted with a carp leaping from the turbulent sea and a dragon springing forth from crashing waves, the upper bulb decorated with the 'Eight Buddhist Emblems'.

Provenance: John Sparks Ltd., London (by repute).
English Private Collection. 

Note: The distinctive shape of this vase is thought to have been inspired by Near or Middle Eastern metalware, while the ceramic form was first produced during Yongle and Xuande periods. The moonflask shape is highly unusual in the Kangxi period. 

The form is recorded in a line drawing in Geng Baochang, Mingqing ciqi jiangding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing Porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, p. 189, no. fig. 336, no. 3. For a closely related piece, see Geng Baochang, ibid., p. 21, fig. 31. Compare a related example decorated with chrysanthemum in iron red, sold at Christie's New York, 30th October 2001, lot 801. Another example with two lugs below the handles, painted with deer motifs in underglaze blue, was sold in these rooms, 3rd December 1974, lot 458

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 11 September 2019