A green-enamelled 'dragon' jar and cover ; jar: Mark and period of Kangxi ;  cover: Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Estimate  300,000 — 500,000  HKD.  Lot sold. 687,500 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

well potted with a tapering ovoid body rising from a recessed base to a rounded shoulder and narrow short neck, decorated around the exterior in green enamel with a pair of five-clawed dragons in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', all above an upright lotus lappet band, the shoulder with a bajixiang band between a border of concentric rings and another of ruyi heads, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle, the top of the cover similarly decorated with a dragon writhing sinuously next to a 'flaming pearl', the sides with a border of ruyi; 21 cm., 8 1/4  in.

Note: The combination of green enamel on a white ground was first produced during the Chenghua period (1465-87) and the green dragon motif continued to adorn dishes and bowls throughout the Ming dynasty. This design was adopted by potters working during the Kangxi reign to decorate jars and dishes and remained popular throughout the Qing dynasty; see another Kangxi marked example, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 190. Compare also a rare example of a Kangxi marked dish with the same decoration, from the Edward T. Chow Collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25th November 1980, lot 155 and more recently at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th April 2001, lot 682.

Sotheby's. CHINESE ART. 01 JUNE 2015 - 02 JUNE 2015 | 3:15 PM HKT - HONG KONG