IMPERIAL CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART FROM THE DETRING/VON HANNEKEN COLLECTION AN EXTREMELY RARE BLUE AND WHITE DOUBLE-GOURD ‘DRAGON’ VASE JIAQING SEAL MARK AND PERIOD

Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 GBP LOT SOLD. 586,000 GBP

Magnificently painted with nine dragons leaping through clouds above crashing waves, this vase boasts the formidable power of the Qing Empire. In its dynamic composition and skilfully painted design, it belongs to the early years of the Jiaqing Emperor’s reign, when the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen were still heavily influenced by the imperial patronage of the preceding Qianlong period. The vivacity of the cobalt blue, superbly rendered dragons and the impeccably finished body emphasise both the craftsmanship of the time and the splendour of the period. In its complex design, it also epitomises the importance of manipulating negative space in the overall composition to achieve balance and harmony.

Jiaqing vases of this type are rare and only two closely related examples appear to be known, both sold in our Hong Kong rooms, one, 11th April 2008, lot 2831, and the other, 31st October 1974, lot 199.

Vases decorated with a central frontal dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl, and surrounded by secondary dragons, appear to have been a popular motif during the Jiaqing reign, appearing on a variety of pieces of various shapes; for example see two blue and white vases in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, one with a long cylindrical neck, included in the Museum’s exhibition Lord Jiaqing and the Journey to Taiwan: A Special Exhibition on Cultural Artifacts of the Qing Emperor Renzong, 2016, cat. no. III-36, and a globular example, published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch’ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. 2, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 93; and another one sold in these rooms, 2nd May 1995, lot 86.

Double-gourd vases painted with front and side facing dragons in copper-red from the Qianlong period may have served as the inspiration for the present vase. See a closely related Qianlong example sold in these rooms rooms, 20th June 2001, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1216; and another from the collection of T. Y. Chao, included in the exhibition Ming and Ch’ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T. Y. Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, cat. no. 781, and sold three times in our Hong Kong rooms, 17th November 1975, lot 222, 18th November 1986, lot 71, and 3rd April 2018, lot 3203.