A celadon-glazed 'dragon' bottle vaseKangxiThe elegantly potted body with incised five-clawed dragons writhing amongst clouds and chasing a flaming pearl, all covered in a pale, transparent qingbai-style glaze, the base with an apocryphal Chenghua reign mark.22.5cm (8 7/8in) high注脚ProvenanceCollection Eugène Fould n.157 (label)Eugène Fould (1876-1929), later Baron Springer-Fould, was one of a famous line of French industrialists and bankers. In addition to Eugène, the family also had a number of prominent Art collectors and a connection to China in Jacques Fould, an administrator in the French Railway Company of Indochina and Yunnan (CIY) founded in 1901. The family lived between the grand Abbey Palace of Royaumont and a flat on the Avenue d'Iéna in Paris, entertaining contemporaries such as Marcel Proust and Sacha Guitry. The Fould name has a further prominence in Parisian society - each iron girder of the Eiffel Tower carries the stamp 'Fould-Dupont' referring to the forge, co-owned by the Fould dynasty, which produced the building materials.The contents of The Abbey Palace, including a collection of Asian Art, were dispersed in a large house sale, Christie's, Palais Abbatial de Royaumont, 19 September - 21 September 2011.