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A rare massive blue and copper-red
‘four-dragons’ fish bowl
Kangxi
Vividly painted on the exterior with two front-facing four-clawed
dragons in underglaze red, each springing from foaming waves in
pursuit of a flaming pearl, alternating with two striding four-clawed
dragons in underglaze blue also rising from waves to clutch at two
more pearls, all amidst fire and cloud scrolls and beneath a band of
classic scroll at the waisted rim.
54cm (21¼in) diam.
£100,000 - 150,000
HK$1,200,000 - 1,900,000 CNY980,000 - 1,500,000
清康熙 青花釉裏紅海水雲龍紋缸
The present lot is strikingly unusual for its dramatic contrasting of
underglaze blue and red to create a particularly vibrant image of
dragons pursuing the flaming pearl. Other examples of fish bowls
from the Kangxi period separate the blue and red colours into
different elements of the decoration, rather than painting them
directly adjacent for a more vivid contrast. See for example a
‘dragon’ fish bowl primarily in underglaze red with minor details in
blue illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace
Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Hong
Kong, 2000, no.190. Another related example with red dragons
contrasting with blue rockwork was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 23
October 2005, lot 342.
Compare also similar combinations of blue and red painting found on
other porcelain from the Kangxi period, for example a meiping from
the Shanghai Museum Collection illustrated by Wang Qingzheng,
Underglaze Blue & Red, Hong Kong, 1987, no.120.
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