A RARE YELLOW-GLAZED INCISED PEAR-SHAPED 'DRAGON' VASE SHI GAN CAO TANG HALL MARK, QIANLONG PERIOD

the slightly spreading foot rising to a rounded body and tall cylindrical neck, incised with two five-clawed lively dragons contesting a 'flaming pearl', above a band of keyfret at the foot, covered in a deep yellow glaze, the base incised with the four-character hall mark

Christie's New York, 21st September 2004, lot 249.

Both double lines above the key fret banner have been re-touched and it is possible that the whole foot may have been off and re-attached. There is an approx. 4 x 4 mm misfired area to the whisker of the lower dragon, and light glaze scratches around the body. There is also an approx. 2cm glaze crack to the rim to the interior.
"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."

Notable for its dynamic design of sinuous dragons, this piece belongs to a distinct group of biscuit vases covered in a yellow glaze made in the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns. This vase, however, is a particularly unusual example as it bears the hall mark Shi gan cao tang (Thatched cottage by the brook). A copper-red glazed moonflask also inscribed with this mark, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is discussed by Ming Wilson in the catalogue to the exhibition Rare Marks on Chinese Ceramics, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1998, p. 116, where she suggests that the mark references one of the songs in the Shijing (Book of Changes) on the joy of home. Hence the mark may imply that the thatched cottage of the owner of this piece was ‘an agreeable dwelling place’. This mark is also found on a double-gourd vase covered in a ge-type glaze, discussed by Geng Baochang in Mingqing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 383; and a turquoise-glazed vase included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Monochrome Ceramics of Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1977, cat. no. 52.

A vase of this type, but attributed to the Jiaqing reign, was included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. 55; another was included in the exhibition From the Dragon’s Treasure, Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1987, cat. no. 2. Compare a similarly decorated tianqiuping included in the exhibition The World in Monochromes, Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 2009, cat. no. 185; and another sold in these rooms, 29th April 1997, lot 602.  See also an ovoid vase incised with a flower scroll, with a Jiaqing mark and of the period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Qingdai dansi you ciqi [Monochrome porcelain of the Qing dynasty], Taipei, 1981, cat. no. 35.