A pair of green-enamelled 'dragon' jars and covers, Seal marks and period of Daoguang

European Private Collection.

Hooymans Collection, The Hague.

Marchant, London, 25th March 1966.

Adorned with a pair of ferocious dragons swirling among the clouds in leafy green enamel and crisp underglaze blue, the present jar is a rare early example of an imperial icon – the green dragon jar. The combination of green enamel on a white ground was first produced during the Chenghua period (1465-87) and similar motifs of green dragons continued to adorn dishes and bowls throughout the Ming dynasty. This auspicious design, combining the eight emblems of Buddhism (bajixiang) with the imperial five-clawed dragon, was soon adopted also by the master potters of the imperial kilns during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722), where it was applied to dishes and – for the first time – to jars. 

A similar vase without a cover is illustrated in Peter Lam and Mayching Kao, Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing From the Kwan Collection, Art Gallery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 58; another, also lacking its cover, was sold in our New York rooms, 21st March 2018, lot 549. Compare also a related pair of Qianlong mark and period, preserved with their covers, sold in these rooms, 14th June 2024, lot 125.