A Superb Copper-Red and Underglaze-Blue Decorated 'Dragon' Moonflask, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong

A Superb Copper-Red and Underglaze-Blue Decorated 'Dragon' Moonflask, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong

of flattened globular form supported on a short straight foot, the very white porcelain superbly and deftly painted on each side in soft ruby tones of copper-red with a ferocious full-faced dragon, the scaly five-clawed beast framed by flaring horns and long flowing mane above furrowed brows and piercing blue eyes, entwining a central 'flaming pearl' amid a scatter of vaporous clouds and leaping above turbulent rolling waves accented with foaming crests, the shoulder flanked by a pair of handles decorated with a band of underglaze-blue spirals, reaching up to a straight neck with underglaze-blue bands below the rim, inscribed on the base with the six-character seal mark in underglaze-blue. 38.6 cm., 15 1/8 in. Estimate 3,000,000—5,000,000 HKD

PROVENANCE: Acquired in Europe in the 1960s.

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: R.P. Marchant, 'Some Interesting Pieces of Marked Ch'ing Porcelain', Bulletin of the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, no. 3, 1977-8, pls 50-53.

NOTE: Copper-red and underglaze-blue moonflasks of this form and decoration can be found in a number of important museums and private collections, however, the present flask is exceptional for its flawless potting and skilful use of the copper-red glaze which is superbly controlled and virtually free of the greenish tinge that is commonly found on pieces of this type.

The potting of underglaze red is similar to underglaze-blue porcelain, however, the successful firing of both underglaze blue and red on one object required the highest level of technical mastery of the manufacturer. To achieve a dazzling and beautiful colouring contrast, different firing conditions were necessary and it was a process fraught with difficulties. The present flask is one of the finest examples where the potter has produced a perfect vessel with the copper-red fired successfully at high temperature without any diffusion and the colour contrast achieved between the cobalt blue and the copper red especially vivid and attractive.

The large front-facing five-clawed dragon is masterly painted with this mysterious and royal creature depicted strong and vivacious. The facial details of the dragon are especially striking with the fine lines and dotting technique used to create a dramatic result. The effect of the design is one of impressive strength. The dragon appears to be floating above waves that are usually painted in a stylized and static fashion. However, the waves found on this flask are more natural in appearance with the froth caused by the upheaval of the water painted in pale-blue to make it more realistic. The strong and perfectly executed six-character reign mark on this moonflask is also noteworthy. The mark is flawlessly aligned at the centre and below the dragon.

A slightly smaller Qianlong flask of the same shape and design, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing in the Palace Museum, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 213 (fig. 1). Another flask from the Norton collection, sold in our London rooms, 5th November 1963, lot 203, and now in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, was included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1965, cat. no. 116. Compare also a flask from the Gerald Reitlinger collection, published in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. XCIV, fig. 1; and another vessel in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, included in the exhibition The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 66 (fig. 2).

A slightly larger Qianlong mark and period flask of this form and design, from the British Rail Pension Fund, was sold twice in these rooms, 17th November 1975, lot 221 and again, 16th May 1989, lot 37, and for the third time at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 776.

Another one in my grandfather's collection in Ho Chi Minh City...

This flask is inspired by early Ming flasks of similar full-bodied spherical form and delicate thin rounded handles. See a Yongle period flask, from the former collection of the Ottoman sultans in Istanbul, and fitted with an Ottoman silver-gilt rim mount, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, vol. II, Istanbul, London, 1986, pl. 613 (fig. 3); and another similarly shaped flask, from the collection of Sir Percival David and now in the British Museum, London, published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 28.

Sotheby's. Eight Treasures from a European Collection. 08 Apr 09.  Hong Kong. www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's