A LARGE 'BLUE AND WHITE' PORCELAIN 'DRAGON' VASE, MAEBYEONG Korea, Joseon dynasty, 19th century Slender in shape, the diameter of the body progressively increasing until it becomes maximum near the shoulder and then suddenly reducing towards the small mouth, on the foot a band of paired 'spear heads' and on the shoulder a series of heads of ruyi scepter, on the rest of the body a mighty dragon flying amidst flaming clouds. 47 cm high Provenance: Italian private collection. The theme of the dragon is well-known as a decoration of Korean porcelain since the 18th century, just as from previous times, at least from the Goryeo dynasty, the maebyeong shape, a direct derivation of the Chinese meiping, was known to the potters of the peninsula. Large Korean porcelain vases, decorated in cobalt blue with dragon and in the maebyeong shape, like this one, are quite rare.