A very large imperial gilt-bronze repoussé model of a five-clawed dragon18th/19th centuryThe imposing beast with scaly S-shaped body standing upright with his two feet clasping two flaming pearls and clouds, with five-clawed arms raised, the head set with later stag-horn antlers above bushy brows, bulbous eyes, large flaring nostrils and jaws agape revealing sharp fangs above the wispy mane. 103cm (40 1/2in) high excluding horns.注脚十八/十九世紀 銅鎏金錘鍱龍立像Provenance: Henry Harrison Getty (1838-1919), by reputeAlice Getty (d.1946), by reputeCourtenay Morgan, Viscount Tredegar (1867-1934), by reputeEvan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar (1893-1949), by reputeProfessor and Mrs Bellerby, by repute Mark Dineley (1901-1975)Peter Dineley (1938-2018), and thence by descent來源：傳Henry Harrison Getty（1838-1919年）舊藏傳Alice Getty（卒於1946年）舊藏傳Tredegar子爵Courtenay Morgan（1867-1934年）舊藏傳Tredegar子爵二世Evan Morgan（1893-1949年）舊藏傳Bellerby教授及夫人舊藏Mark Dineley（1901-1975年）舊藏Peter Dineley（1938-2018年）舊藏，並由後人保存迄今The present lot is impressive for its magnificent size and dynamic modelling. Its size and posture strongly suggest that it would have been part of a support holding perhaps an astronomical or scientific instrument. Compare with a large globe, supported by four dragons, Qianlong, illustrated in Life in the Forbidden City of Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2007, pp.148-149. See also bronze dragons supporting an astronomical instrument illustrated in Forbidden City: The Great Within, London, 1995, p.43A pair of gilt-bronze seated dragons, each with one paw resting on a ball, is in Chateau de Fontainebleau and is illustrated in Le Musee Chinois de I'Imperatrice Eugenie, Fontainebleau, 1994, fig.17. On display in the Forbidden City are large gilt-bronze dragon placed at hall entrances such as the one seen in situ placed in front of Cining Men guarding the entrance to Yang Xin Dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation), illustrated in Life in the Forbidden City, Beijing, 1985, p.26, fig.16.