Lot 173. A pair of doucai conical 'dragon' bowls and covers, Yongzheng six-character marks in underglaze blue within double circles and of the period (1723-1735); 8 1/8 in. (20 cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 30,000 - GBP 50,000. Price realised GBP 212,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

The conical bowls and domed covers are finely enamelled to the exterior with a yellow and a green five-clawed dragon above crashing waves in pursuit of the flaming pearl. The mouth rims have small v-shaped indentations.

Provenance: H.R.H. Prince Henry, The Duke of Gloucester, K.G., K.T., K.P. (1900 - 1974)
Mrs. L. H. Goris; Christie's London, 12 May 1975, lot 155.
Private English Collection, amassed in the UK in the 1970s and thence by descent within the family.

Note: A pair of bowls and covers of this pattern and of the Yongzheng period are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 230. A single bowl and cover was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3 June 2015, lot 3147.