A doucai‘dragon and phoenix’ meiping, Qing dynasty, 18th century - Sotheby's
the well-potted tapering body rising from a recessed base to broad rounded shoulders and a narrow short waisted neck, brightly enamelled within an underglaze-blue outline, depicting a dragon and phoenix amongst large floral blooms borne on meandering leafy stems, all below a keyfret band, the neck encircled with linked ruyi heads; 37cm., 14 1/2 in. Estimation: 30,000 - 40,000 GBP
NOTE: A closely related example from the collection of Sir John Buchanan-Jardine was included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935, cat. no. 2177; two vases were sold in these rooms, 2nd December 1997, lot 271, the other, 12th July 2006, lot 128; and a fourth vase was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 1995, lot 512. For a vase of this type, but with broader shoulders and decorated with a lappet border around the foot, see one from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection ofTreasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 237; and another published in Collection of Chinese and Other Far Eastern Art, New York, 1943, pl. 1221, sold at Christie’s New York, 22ndMarch 2007, lot 345.
Doucai decoration, where the motif is outlined under the glaze in blue and coloured over the glaze in enamels, is derived from the cloisonné technique that was introduced in the Ming period. The method of creating doucai wares was developed in the Chenghua period (1426-35) and continued to be appreciated for their understated elegance and for their association with Chenghua porcelain during the Qing dynasty, particularly by the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013, www.sothebys.com