Finely potted, of elegantly curving beaker form, the steep, gently flaring sides sweeping to an everted rim, all supported on a slightly splayed base, the exterior decorated with a writhing dragon, in the style of the second half of the 15th century, chasing the flaming pearl amongst fire scrolls, covered overall in a dark blue glaze.
For a barrel-shaped “dragon” box and cover with this decoration from the collection of Albert and Léonie van Daalen, see Christie’s London, The van Daalen Collection of Chinese Art, 30 October 2019, lot 36.
For different essays about blue ground porcelain, see Jorge Welsh, Noble Blue – The enduring appeal of blue ground Chinese porcelain,Lisbon/London, 2023.
Chinese porcelain decorated with a blue ground has a history stretching back at least to the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), when blue glazes were developed shortly after the introduction underglaze blue painted decoration, and also the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It seems to have been especially popular during the reign of the Xuande emperor (1426-1435).
During the reign of the Shunzi emperor (1644-1661), and Kangxi emperor (1662-1722), production of many types of Ming porcelain were revived and improved, including monochrome red, green, yellow, brown and especially blue porcelain.
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