Superbly potted with a tapering body sweeping up to a broad rounded shoulder surmounted by a waisted neck and everted rim, the exterior brilliantly enamelled in varying tones of iron red with two five-clawed dragons reaching for a central flaming pearl amidst flame wisps, one rendered larger and in a dominant position, portrayed writhing sinuously along the shoulder of the vessel, the other slightly subordinate and depicted with a more slender serpentine body with its tail emanating dynamically from the whirl-pool like waves bordering the lower body, each mythical beast skillfully rendered with a ferocious expression accentuated with piercing eyes and an open mouth revealing its teeth and tongue, the windswept mane and scales meticulously defined, all against a ground of cobalt-blue ruyi clouds, the recessed base inscribed with a six-character Qianlong seal mark. Qing dynasty. 12" H. Provenance: Private Collection of an Important Estate, Dallas, Texas.