A VERY RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL 'DRAGON' VASE, TIANQIUPINGQianlongFinely cast with a globular body resting on a gilt-bronze base and surmounted by a tall cylindrical neck with a gilt-bronze lipped mouth rim, the exterior decorated in vivid enamels with three-clawed scaly red dragons writhing ferociously and sinuously amidst dense clusters of variegated blue clouds resembling auspiciouslingzhi, all above a band of crashing waves encircling the foot, all finely accentuated with thin gilt-bronze outlines.46cm (18 1/8in) high.For further information on this lot please visit theProvenance: 清乾隆 掐絲琺瑯仿青花釉裏紅雲龍紋天球瓶Provenance:A French private collection, prior to 2009來源:法國私人舊藏，2009年前Finely enamelled in shades of blue and red to resemble underglaze-blue and red porcelains, this vase is extremely rare for its rendering of the theme possibly inspired by the celebrated Southern Song ink handscroll painting 'Nine Dragons' by the prominent poet, calligrapher and artist, Chen Rong (active 1235-58). The innovative spirit of the original painting has been well captured on this vase, where the craftsman has attempted to recreate the atmospheric billowing clouds through scallop-shaped cloisons that have been filled with graduating tones of blue. An underglaze-blue vase, Yongzheng mark and period, painted with the Nine Dragons motif reveals that the Yongzheng emperor had access to and was an admirer of the painting. The craftsman successfully manipulated the cobalt-blue to produce a vase that clearly points to its prototype; see the example in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Theplete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Hong Kong, 2000, p.216, no.197.This design continued into the Qianlong period; see a blue and white globular vase with underglaze-red dragon, Qianlong seal mark and of the period, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Theplete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Hong Kong, 2000, p.230, no.210.Compare also with a similar cloisonné enamel vase, mid Qing dynasty, with a similar design of red dragon amidst clouds, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in thependium of Collection in the Palace Museum: Enamels, vol.3, Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl.102.See a related cloisonné enamel dragon vase, Yongzheng period, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 October 2017, lot 102.頸直口，長頸微束，寬肩鼓腹，圓唇，圈足，口沿、足底鎏金。通體掐絲細緻，此器風格源自瓷器雛本仿青花釉裏紅紋飾，比較一例清宮舊藏雍正六字篆書款青花釉裏紅海水龍紋天球瓶，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：青花釉裏紅，下》，北京，2003年，頁216，圖版197。而構圖主題靈感則與現藏於波士頓美術館，南宋畫家陳容的《九龍圖卷》有異曲同工之妙，頸及腹滿繪三爪巨龍騰雲，氣勢磅礡，近足處繪海水紋。此類天球瓶風格延續到乾隆時期，參考另一件較小的清宮舊藏乾隆六字篆... For further information on this lot please visit the