A massive imperial white glazed 'dragon' meiping Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period

the body well carved in low relief with two scaly five-clawed dragons in mutual pursuit of a large flaming pearl, one flying amidst wispy cloud scrolls, the other rising from the band of crested waves at the base, with a narrow band of ruyi hands below the rim, covered overall in a 'qingbai'-type pale blue-green tinted white glaze thinning on the raised surfaces to emphasise the decoration, the recessed base unglazed

Christie's New York, 21st March 2000, lot 388. 

Collection of Chinese and Other Far Eastern Art, Yamanaka and Company Inc., 1943, no. 1245, where the vase was dated to the Kangxi period.

No other meiping of this shape, glaze and decoration appears to be recorded, although in its decoration and carving manner it is related to smaller celadon-glazed Qianlong vases that are finely carved in relief with dragons chasing flaming pearls. See two celadon-glazed meipings of Qianlong marks and period, both sold in our New York rooms, 4^th June 1982, lots 219 and 220; the former from the collection of Albert Keller and subsequently in the Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, from the Jingguantang collection, was included in the exhibition Splendours of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1992, cat.no. 210; and the latter vase decorated with five dragons.