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A RARE GREEN-ENAMELED ‘DRAGON’ JAR, 清康熙 綠彩趕珠龍紋罐
MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI 《大清康熙年製》款
the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within
a double circle 來源
Height 7¾ in., 19.7 cm Herman A. E. (1951年逝) 及 Paul C. (1951年逝)
Jaehne 收藏
PROVENANCE
1941年贈予紐瓦克博物館, 紐瓦克 (館藏編號
Collection of Herman A. E. (d. 1951) and Paul C. (d. 1951) 41.2104)
Jaehne.
Gifted to The Newark Museum, Newark, in 1941 (accession
no. 41.2104).
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.
Although related jars of this type from the ensuing Qianlong
period and beyond are fairly well attested, this early variety
remains elusive. Densely covered in scrolling clouds, with
each vibrant dragon penciled out in remarkable detail,
Kangxi examples of this type possess an ineffable sense
of character and energy rarely replicated in later versions.
Compare a covered example of this type, from the Qing
Court Collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing
in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace
Museum. Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colors,
Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 190; another sold without a cover at
Christie’s London, 10th May 2011, lot 281; and a third, also
uncovered, sold in our London rooms, 13th December 1976,
lot 64. Compare also a similarly rare Kangxi marked dish of
this decoration, from the Edward T. Chow Collection, sold
in our Hong Kong rooms, 25th November 1980, lot 155 and
again more recently as part of the Yidetang Collection, 12th
October 2021, lot 7.
$ 60,000-80,000

74 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11744 PROPERTY OF THE NEWARK MUSEUM OF ART, SOLD TO SUPPORT MUSEUM COLLECTIONS 75