A cloisonné enamel 'dragon' vase, Qing dynasty, 17th century

Well modelled with a prominent pear-shaped body resting on a tall spreading pedestal foot and tapering to a waisted neck and flared mouth, the shoulders applied with a pair of bronze mythical beast-mask-form handles suspending loose rings, this impressive vase is notable for its archaistic form and vibrant enamels. In form it derives from archaic bronze ritual hu vessels of the Zhou (c. 1050 - 221 BC) and Han (206 BC-220 AD) dynasties. Although the overall shape is largely retained, the craftsmen have created a piece in contemporary taste with the incorporation of a pair of dragons traversing amidst clouds and contesting a flaming pearl above crashing waves, together galloping horses adorning the foot.

Compare a similar vase in the Pierre Uldry Collection, but attributed to the 16th century and with an apocryphal Jingtai mark, illustrated in Helmut Brinker and Albert Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, pl. 118; and another. from the collection of David B. Peck III, sold at Christie's New York, 18th September 2014, lot 602.

A closely related example was sold in these rooms, 17th November 1999, lot 836, and again 1st November 2023, lot 99, from the collection of Dr Kenneth Lawley.