Page 160 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

1972.43.27 (C-582)
Small Vase

Qing dynasty, late eighteenth/early nineteenth century
l
Porcelain with colorless glaze, 13.0 x 8.3 (5/s x 3V4)
Harry G. Steele Collection, Gift of Grace C. Steele
TECHNICAL NOTES
The colorless glaze has a uniform tonality over the white porcelain
body, with a rather uneven surface. The foot-ring is roughly
trimmed and beveled. A thin matte glaze covers the base.
PROVENANCE
(Parish-Watson Gallery, New York); sold to Harry G. Steele
[1881-1941], Pasadena; his widow, Grace C. Steele.

HE SHAPE OF THIS MINIATURE VESSEL is characteristic of
Tthe late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. 1
The exterior is decorated with incised designs. A double
line encircles the neck; below this are stylized clouds. The
main area of the body is decorated with a three-clawed
dragon, its long, sinuous body and bifurcated tail flying
through the air. Its spine is textured with a row of small
circles and its stomach with short parallel strokes. Above
the foot a double line encircles the body, and above this
is a band of crashing waves. The carving is rather stiff.
SL
NOTES
i. For a large famille rose vase of this shape dating to the
Qianlong period (1736-1795), see Lefebvre d'Argence 1967, pi. 75.

144 D E C O R A T I V E A R T S