Lot 3611. A fine white-glazed anhua-decorated 'dragon' cup, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); d. 6.5 cm. Lot Sold 825,000 HKD (Estimate 600,000 - 800,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023 

Provenance: Collection of the Hall family, coll. no. 234.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2nd May 2000, lot 521.

Note: Although very thinly potted white porcelain cups with engraved hidden  anhua  decoration of dragons were found on Ming monochromes, it was not until the Kangxi period that craftsmen from the imperial kilns truly mastered this technique.

Compare a closely related pair, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in  Sun yingzhou de taoci shijie  [The ceramics world of Sun Yingzhou], Beijing Palace Museum, Beijing, 2003, cat. no. 116; a pair from the Meiyingtang Collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl,  Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection , vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 792; and another bowl from the Baur Foundation, Museum of Far Eastern Art, Geneva, illustrated in  Mille Ans de Monochromes , Geneva, 2018 , cat. no. 186. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 9 October 2023