AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE IMPERIAL ‘FIVE DRAGONS' BOTTLE VASE, DAOGUANG MARK AND PERIOD

Expert’s note:
The depiction of five dragons carries strong imperial connotations, as the number five holds profound cosmological significance, reflecting the emperor’s position at the center of the four cardinal directions.
Since antiquity, Chinese political thought conceived of rulership in spatial terms: the sovereign occupied the central axis, presiding over the four quarters as the structuring framework of the realm. This cosmological model, embedded in ritual texts, urban planning, and state ceremony, defined the emperor as the pivotal mediator between Heaven and Earth.
Within this system, the grouping of five dragons must be understood as a visual articulation of central authority. The rarity of the present lot, known in only one other example forming its pair (see auction result comparison below), suggests a commission of particular significance, possibly created for the Daoguang Emperor himself.
Green, within classical Chinese cosmology, is associated with renewal and vital resurgence. In the context of a reign marked by considerable strain, such emphasis may be read as an appeal to restoration and rebalancing of the realm—an interpretation that remains circumstantial, yet conceptually consistent with longstanding imperial symbolism.

China, 1821-1850. Finely potted with a globular body set on a solid foot and rising to a tall, waisted neck with an everted rim, this exquisite form is a distinctive interpretation of the classic yuhuchunping shape. The exterior is superbly enameled in green and black with five Imperial five-clawed dragons pursuing flaming pearls amid delicately stippled ruyi-shaped clouds, all enclosed by gilt bands at the mouth and foot further defined by iron-red lines. The interior and base are coated in turquoise enamel, while the dragons’ claws and teeth are carefully highlighted in white.

The base with an iron-red six-character reign mark, da Qing Daoguang nianzhi, and of the period.

Provenance: Property from a Canadian private collection, according to the previous owner acquired from Dr. P. Franklin, who assembled his collection between the late 1940s and 1950s. Sotheby's New York, 23 March 2022, lot 362, sold for USD 94,500 or approx. EUR 90,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A noted European private collection, acquired from the above.
Condition: Excellent condition with only minor wear and firing irregularities including few tiny discolored patches to the foot.

Weight: 1.5 kg
Dimensions: Height 27.9 cm

This vase is extremely rare, with only one other example recorded (see auction result comparison). Finely proportioned and decorated with five green-enameled dragons, it constitutes a superb example of imperial porcelain from the Daoguang period. The design originated in the Chenghua reign and continued in favor throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Ming dynasty, dragons were typically incised into the reserved biscuit body before being enameled in green, whereas Qing potters applied the green enamel over a transparent glaze.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related vase of the same form and design, but painted in black enamel, dated to the Daoguang period, in the collection of the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, included in the exhibition Seikado zo Shincho toji. Keitokuchin kanyo no bi [Qing dynasty porcelain collected in the Seikado. Beauty of Jingdezhen imperial kilns], Tokyo, 2006, and illustrated in the catalog, p. 83, pl. 75. Compare a related lidded dragon jar with a Daoguang mark and of the period, 19.8 cm high, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, reference number 故瓷008825N000000000.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Near identical
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2028
Price: HKD 2,310,000 or approx. EUR 335,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare green-enamelled 'dragon' bottle vase, Daoguang iron-red six-character seal mark and of the period
Expert remark: Compare the near identical form, decoration, motifs, reign mark, and size (27 cm). Given that no other examples are recorded in public or private collections, this vase is probably the pair to the present lot.

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