the deep rounded sides rising from a slightly tapered foot to a gently flaring rim, painted to the exterior with two dragons each striding in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', divided by two phoenix in flight, reserved on a leafy floral ground, all below a band of 'Auspicious Emblems' and ruyi at the rim, the interior with a medallion enclosing a further dragon and 'flaming pearl', the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Reportedly given to President Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893) by a member of the Chinese imperial family in the late 1800s.
Gifted by the Hayes family to the mother of the present owner in the 1960s.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 12 sept. 2018, 10:30 AM