Page 38 - Christie's, THREE IMPERIAL TREASURES Chinese Porcelain May 30 to June 1, 2023 Hong Kong

The present moonflask is one of the finest and most iconic pieces of
porcelain from the Qianlong period. Measuring just over 50 cm. high, it
is one of the largest moonflasks of that period and possibly one of the only
two doucai examples decorated with two dragons to each face.
The closest comparable example to the present moonflask is a doucai
moonflask (49.5 cm. high) with a slightly different composition in the
Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of
the Palace Museum, Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours,
Hong Kong, 1999, p. 278, no. 254 (fig. 1), where the young dragon,
of a smaller size, is shown half-submerged in the waves. Compare also
with a similar doucai moonflaskbut of much smaller size (24.3 cm. high)
depicting a pair of dragons confronted on a flaming pearl in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, see ibid., no. 241.

Other Qianlong doucai moonflasks of similar size but depicting single
dragons include a pair included in the exhibition 100 Masterpieces of
Imperial Chinese Ceramics from the Au Bak Ling Collection, Royal
Academy of Arts, London, 1998, and illustrated in The Asian Art

瓶撇口，短頸，頸飾對稱夔龍耳，扁腹，圈足。內飾松石綠釉。外底松
石綠釉地青花篆書「大清乾隆年製」款。
本瓶高度逾50公分，器形規整，紋飾氣勢磅礴，為乾隆時期官窯之代
表作。本瓶的紋飾以青花勾勒輪廓，再填入各色釉上彩，器身各面分
fig. 1 Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing 別生動地描繪了一隻五爪游龍翻騰於江崖海水之上，及一隻伴隨其
身旁之幼龍，構成蒼龍教子之寓意。
圖一 北京故宮博物院藏品

本瓶極其稀罕。大型的乾隆鬥彩蒼龍教子圖抱月瓶存世似僅有兩件，
此為其一，另一件為北京故宮博物院所藏，高（49.5公分），但其構圖
略異，幼龍身形較小，且局部身軀浸於海水中，不如此瓶所見盤旋於
空中，見故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《五彩·鬥彩》，香港，1999年，
頁278，圖版254（圖一）。本瓶固可被視為孤品。北京故宮博物院另藏

38 THE IMPERIAL PALETTE THREE QIANLONG TREASURES