the well-potted globular body rising to a tall cylindrical neck, painted in vivid cobalt-blue tones with a pair of sinuous dragons amidst leafy lotus blossoms, each dragon depicted with bulging eyes, pointed horns and scaly body, its mouth wide opened showing ferocious fangs, the slightly recessed base unglazed.

Note: It is extremely rare to find Yongzheng 'dragon' vases of this magnificent size and striking deep blue painting of two ferocious scaly dragons, the type better known from Ming prototypes. See three Yongle period bottle vases of this shape decorated with the dragon and lotus pattern, one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. I, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 6; one in Teheran, published in John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington D.C., 1956, pl. 53, no. 29.470; and a third sold in these rooms, 1st/2nd April 1974, lot 187.

For Qing examples, compare a slightly smaller vase, attributed to the Yongzheng period, included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 81; and another smaller vase sold in these rooms, 8th/9th July 1974, lot 299.  See also a large bottle vase of this shape with a Qianlong seal mark on its base published in The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV. Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 72, painted with a Qing interpretation of the design: a dragon pacing through an elaborate lotus scroll depicted above waves and with a ruyi-head and wave border around the neck.

The dragon is perhaps the most important motif in the repertoire of the Chinese potter and artist. It represents the emperor and is the symbol of imperial power. The dragon on this vase has all the characteristics found on Ming period wares: depicted with three claws as opposed to the five-clawed dragons found on Qing pieces, and also bearing the characteristic blunt nose, strained bulging eyes beneath rich lashes and an especially pronounced antler-form horn. The Ming dragon is also typically depicted free and unobscured by the surrounding decoration of the freely painted lotus scroll. Even the rich tones of underglaze-blue are accented by areas of 'heaping and piling', another Ming period trait.   

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, 11 May 11, London