A rare blue and white 'dragon' jar and cover. Mark and period of Jiajing

A rare blue and white 'dragon' jar and cover. Mark and period of Jiajing

of sturdily potted shouldered form with rounded sides tapering towards the wide base and surmounted by a short neck, boldly painted in vivid tones of soft cobalt-blue with a pair of scaly dragons flying through cloud swirls and flames, the winged-beasts with sinous bodies and long curling tails bearing gaping jaws and sharp fangs, all set between a band of pendant lotus petals at the shoulder and rising lappets around the foot, the neck with a pattern of circles, surmounted by a cover decorated with pomegranate scrolls around a lotus knop, the base inscribed with the six-character mark within double-circles. 32.4 cm., 12 3/4 in. Estimate 1,200,000—1,500,000 HKD

PROVENANCE: Lempertz, Cologne, 29th November 1980, lot 1132.
Sotheby's London, 10th December 1982, lot 194.
A Private Japanese Collection.

NOTE: While Jiajing dragon jars of this type are known, the present piece is notable for its unusual depiction of the dragon. With the curling bifurcated tail and wings of the yingchi dragon combined with the head, scales and dorsal spine of the long or mang dragon, the painter has created a unique type of dragon and no other piece with this creature appears to have been published. Closer in resemblance to a fish than four-legged lizard-like creatures characteristic of long dragons, the stylised crashing waves suggests it is a water creature and is thus particularly suited to the present depiction of the dragon.

A slightly larger jar of similar design, but with two four-legged chi dragons chasing flaming pearls amongst clouds below a band of lotus petals, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is published in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book V, Hong Kong, 1963, pl. 14. See also a slightly smaller example, but missing its cover, sold in our London rooms, 15th June 1982, lot 288, and again in these rooms, 8th October 2006, lot 1170; one from the Hay collection, sold in our London rooms, 16th June 1939, lot 72; and a third jar sold in our New York rooms, 4th December 1984, lot 325.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 08 Apr 09. Hong Kong www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's