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

Acquired in Europe in the 1960s.

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.

To one side there is a minor 7mm glaze pull below the right shoulder. On the other side there is an old 1 cm chip to the foot. The handles have minute fritting and fine glaze cracks at the top and base of each handle at the luting line. The base of the neck also has a short glaze crack on the luting line. There are a few minor scratches to the glaze on one side. Around the base at the luting line to the foot, there are two firing cracks on the short sides of the oval. Just above the foot there is a set of spur marks that was used in firing to prevent the vase from leaning. The underglaze red and blue are very well controlled and evenly fired throughout.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

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.

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.