Lot 6. A copper-red 'Dragon and Phoenix' meiping, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 23.5 cm, 9 1/4  in. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000HKD. Lot Sold 600,000 HKD (76,626 USD). © Sotheby's.

well-potted, the baluster body sweeping up to a short everted neck, finely decorated in pencilled tones of underglaze copper red with archaistic chilong and phoenix interspersed among composite floral scroll, all between lappet bands encircling the base and the neck, the rim encircled by detached floral sprays.

Provenance: Sotheby’s London, 6th April 1976, lot 140.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 22nd May 1979, lot 201.

Note: Elegantly decorated in copper red with sinuous archaistic dragons and phoenix striding amongst leafy blooms, the present vase demonstrates the technical proficiency of the craftsmen through the precise application of the highly-temperamental copper pigment.

Meiping vases of this design are extremely rare. For a related but slightly smaller example, compare one with more angular shoulders and painted with dragons striding among lingzhi scrolls, sold three times at auction, first in our London rooms, 2nd/3rd December 1974, lot 532, again in these rooms, 29th November 1977, lot 196, and the third time at Christie’s New York, 19th September 2007, lot 404. A further example, larger and unmarked, was sold at Christie's Tokyo, 15th February 1981, lot 313.

A very rare copper-red-decorated meiping, 18th century; 12½ in. (31.7 cm.) high. Sold for 70,600 USD at Christie's Tokyo, 15th February 1981, lot 313. © Christie's Image Limited