Lot 1. A copper-red 'Dragon' trilobed vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 30.2 cm, 11 7/8  in. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 HKD. Lot Sold 525,000 HKD (67,048 USD). © Sotheby's.

well-potted with a baluster body divided into three lobes, rising to a waisted neck and everted rim of conforming section, deftly painted in underglaze red with three five-clawed dragons, writhing among clouds above crashing waves, their eyes picked out in underglaze blue, the foot and rim encircled by a double-fillet in underglaze blue.

Note: Magnificent vases painted in copper red with dragons are extremely rare, as such vases are notoriously difficult to apply and fire with success. They bear testament to imperial patronage and technological advancement in porcelain production during the Qianlong period.

Copper red required precise control of the firing temperature and the atmosphere inside the kiln. The resulting tone of the red was particularly important to the Qianlong Emperor, possibly due to the auspicious connotation of the colour. His demand for excellence is noted in a court record of 1738, where he rated the colour of a copper-red meiping with dragon design as not good enough (Feng Xianming, Annotated Collection of Historical Documents on Ancient Chinese Ceramics, Taipei, 2000, p. 232).