A rare and impressive yellow-ground green-enameled blue and white 'dragon' meipingQing dynasty, Qianlong period清乾隆 黃地青花穿花龍紋梅瓶Japanese wood box (3)Height 13⅝ in., 34 cmFor more information on and additional videos for this lot, please contact serina.wei@sothebys.comIn response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.Acquired in Kyoto, circa 1997 (by repute). American Private Collection, since 2000.得於京都，約1997年（傳）美國私人收藏，自2000年Ming Dynasty Aesthetics for a Qing Emperor: A Rare and Impressive Qianlong meipingThe vibrant color palette, striking painting, and commanding form of this meiping harmonize to create a highly impressive work of art. The vase pays homage to early Ming dynasty porcelain styles, reflecting their enduring power more than three hundred years later. The prevailing interest in classicism during the Qianlong period was driven in no small part by the Emperor himself and was translated into imperial porcelains under the supervision of Tang Ying (1682-1756), the Superintendent of the Imperial Kilns in Jingdezhen. Tang Ying entered the Imperial Household Department at the age of 16, where he had the opportunity to study the Qing Court Collection. These encounters were probably essential to Tang Ying's ability to later adapt older ceramic traditions into new creations that catered to Qianlong's tastes and predilections.Various elements of early Ming porcelain are presented on this vase, including the subject matter, painting style, and color palette. Five powerful dragons stride across the porcelain surface against a ground of large blossoms and leafy scrolls, each beast captured in a different pose. Some descend vertically, displaying their long sinuous bodies and elegant profiles, while others coil with arms outstretched, assuming a more frontal position. Not only do these variations display the full range of the creatures' expressive power and the painter's skill, by ascending and descending across the vessel, the dragons enhance its sweeping, three-dimensional voluminous form. While dragons are a common motif in porcelain, they are less commonly depicted with floral scrolls as seen here. This combination of dragons and flowers derives from early 15th century porcelain, such as a tianqiuping painted with a large dragon amidst floral scrolls, illustrated in Rosemary Scott, Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration: Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen Porcelain, London, 1992, pl. 24. The masterful handling of cobalt-blue on this vase showcases the impressive range of tonality that can be achieved by a single hue. The entire design is delineated in thin blue wash, with details like the dragon heads, claws, flower petals, and leaves finely picked out in intense dark blue spots, imbuing the painting with depth and dimension. This mottled 'heaped and piled' manner of painting deliberately references the early Ming use of cobalt pigment on porcelain, whereby dark blue spots developed in certain areas due to the accumulation of iron-oxide. Finally, the combination of a yellow overglaze enamel ground and underglaze-blue painting also derives from the early Ming dynasty, first appearing on porcelain during the Xuande period. For example, see a Xuande mark and period dish with cobalt-painted fruit sprays against a yellow enamel ground, illustrated in ibid., pl. 42. Yellow was favored for its imperial association, and this vibrant palette continued into the Qing dynasty. In the Qianlong period, it was sometimes enhanced by a subtle addition of transparent green or turquoise enamel at the borders of porcelain pieces, as seen on the present meiping. This vase is extremely rare and would likely have originally been inscribed with a Qianlong seal mark. Compare a blue and white meiping of very similar profile and design illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 116. For a yellow-ground blue and white vase painted with a similar pattern, also with the wave borders applied with transparent green enamel, see a magnificent tianqiuping sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd April 2018, lot 3620. Compare also a yellow-ground 'dragon' bottle vase published in Ethereal Elegance: Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing. The Huaihaitang Collection, Hong Kong, 2007, pl. 116, and an interlocking jiaotai yellow-ground vase painted with a related floral scroll, also with the keyfret registers under green enamel, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, op. cit. pl. 236. A yellow-ground vase with floral scroll and green-enameled borders was sold in these rooms, 13th September 2017, lot 25. For Yongzheng period moonflasks featuring a related composite blue and white floral scroll against yellow enamel, see one included in ibid., pl. 233, and another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th November 2011, lot 2944. For other Qianlong vessels decorated with early Ming-inspired designs on a yellow ground, see a meiping decorated with branches of fruits and flowers, included in The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV- Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 88, and one sold in these rooms, 23rd-24th March 1998, lot 674, and again at Christie's New York, 24th September 2020, lot 1615. Two yellow-ground Ming-style dishes are also illustrated in ibid., pls 90 and 91.  明儀清賞：乾隆黃地青花穿花龍紋梅瓶此瓶配色明麗燦然，紋飾栩栩如生，器形端重雍和，清瓷之珍。此瓶風格可追溯至明初御瓷，足見明初製瓷工藝其影響延續三百餘年。時任景德鎮御窰廠督陶官唐英十六歲入宮，進內務府伺候，涉獵清宮浩瀚庋藏，敏銳洞察到乾隆帝追慕古風的情懷，故而迎合所好，鑒古求新，遂成精瓷。明初御瓷的紋飾、畫風及配色均可於此瓶略見一二。器身繪五龍穿花，姿態各異。有凌空而降者，蜿蜒起伏，逍遙自若，有矯身盤桓者，張牙舞爪，威風凜凜。五龍惟妙惟肖，彰顯超卓匠工，錯落有致的龍驅更顯瓶身整體線條流暢，凹凸圓潤。龍紋常見於瓷器，但穿花龍紋卻較為少見，上承自明初之風。參考一件穿花龍紋天球瓶，載於蘇玫瑰，《Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration: Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen Porcelain》，倫敦，1992年，圖版24。此瓶黃地上巧施鈷青料，深淺交錯。青花勾勒紋飾，龍首、龍爪、花瓣、草葉處以墨藍著點，擬仿前朝因青花料含鐵量高而形成的錫斑，為圖案平添立體之感。黃地青花亦可上溯至明初，首見於宣德一朝。例如一件宣德黃地青花瑞果紋盤，前述出處，圖版42。明黃屬帝皇之色，清帝亦喜用黃。另外，乾隆朝瓷器有時會於一些輔助紋飾處施淺綠彩，本品亦可見此特點。本梅瓶極其珍罕，原應帶乾隆款。比較一形制相近之青花梅瓶例，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：青花釉裏紅（下）》，香港，2000年，圖版116。另有一黃地青花穿花龍紋天球瓶，瓶口及底足海水紋上罩施淺綠彩，售於香港蘇富比2018年4月3日，編號3620。又見一黃地龍紋瓶，載於《機暇清賞：懷海堂藏清代御窰瓷缾》，香港，2007年，圖版116。並見一黃地花卉紋交泰瓶，沿邊同施綠彩，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集》，前述出處，圖版236。紐約蘇富比曾售一件黃地花卉紋瓶，2017年9月13日，編號25。另可見一件雍正黃地青花花卉紋扁壺，前述出處，圖版233。一件雍正黃地青花纏枝花卉紋雙夔龍耳海棠式扁壺，售於香港佳士得2011年11月30日，編號2944。仿明初風格的乾隆黃地御瓷亦可參考一件折枝花果紋梅瓶，載於《徐氏藝術館：陶瓷篇IV – 清代》，香港，1995年，圖版88。另有一例售於紐約蘇富比1998年3月23日至24日，編號674，其後再售於紐約佳士得2020年9月24日，編號1615。還有兩件明代黃地盤例，前述出處，圖版90及91。