A MASSIVE GILT-DECORATED GRISAILLE AND COPPER RED ENAMELLED 'DRAGON' ROULEAU VASE
Republic
The cylindrical body and neck boldly painted in gilt, grisaille and copper red with a continuous scene of two large five-clawed dragons flying in and out of clouds above carp fish jumping between frothing and bubbling waves lapping against sharply angled rocks.
78.5cm (30 7/8in) high
Footnotes:
民國 墨彩描金紅彩龍紋棒槌瓶

The distinctive style of painting on the present vase derives from a very small number of Imperially commissioned ceramics created by Tang Ying in the Imperial workshops in the 18th century, which was further continued by porcelain artists of the early 20th century. The free and expressive style of the dragon derives in style and composition from the important handscroll painting Nine Dragons by Chen Rong and dated 1244 (fig.1), now in the collection of the MFA, Boston. The painting was formerly a treasured part of the collection of the Qianlong Emperor who personally inscribed the painting, ordering a copy to be created.

Tang Ying adapted the designs to porcelain. A tianqiuping vase with related design bearing Tang Ying's inscription is illustrated in Ming and Qing official Wares: A Survey of Chinese Ceramics 4, 2007, p.178, no.76, whist a brush pot (fig.2) may be found in Elegant Vessels for the Lofty Pavilion: the Zande Lou Gift of Porcelain with Studio Marks, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1993, no 14. The Chen Rong style of dragons influenced Imperial ceramics more widely and may also be found on underglaze blue and carved celadon vases from the Imperial collection.

The painting on the present vase reproduces the distinctive colour scheme of both the original painting and the Tang Yin porcelain examples with a combination of en grisaille and iron red enamels and gilt embellishments. The dragons on the present vase update the four-clawed dragons of Chen Rong to five-clawed dragon which is the ultimate symbol of Imperial authority. Unlike the majority of porcelain with this design the vase includes a pair of dragons above a fish rather than a single beast.

The vase is a particularly large example of the rouleau form which gained popularity in the Kangxi period. Vases of this scale would have been formed in three sections luted together. Whilst particularly popular as export porcelain they are also recorded in the Palace Museum collection, see for example The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pls.14 and 15.

There is light surface scratching. There is an approximately 27cm curving body crack. There is an approx 6cm horizontal line just above the uppermost claw on the neck that shows up under UV light, possibly an indication of some restoration.