A RARE CHINESE IMPERIAL MOULDED GOURD 'DRAGONS' BOWL

A RARE CHINESE IMPERIAL MOULDED GOURD 'DRAGONS' BOWL
FOUR-CHARACTER QIANLONG SHANGWAN MARK AND OF THE PERIOD

The deep body with a gently flaring rim and raised on a short foot, the sides decorated with a continuous band of dragons chasing pearls of wisdom framed by key fret borders; the mythical beasts are depicted writhing above crashing waves and amongst swirling clouds; the inside in black lacquer and the base marked Qianlong Shangwan (appreciated by the Qianlong Emperor) within a double ring, 15.1cm.

PLEASE NOTE THIS LOT IS TO BE OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE.

Provenance: from the collection of Phillip Allen (1938-2022).

The Kangxi Emperor commissioned gourd vessels to be made in the Palace Workshops, transforming what was folk craft into an Imperial art form. For a detailed discussion of the early history of moulded Imperial gourds, see Wang Shixiang, 'Moulded Gourds', Gugong Bowuyuan Yuankan, 1979, no. 1, pp. 86-91, translated by Craig Clunas in the Oriental Ceramic Society Chinese Transactions, no.10, London, 1981, pp.16-30.

Three Qianlong gourd bowls from the collection of Sir John Addis in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, are illustrated in Craig Clunas, Chinese Carving, Singapore, 1996; one bearing the mark Qianlong shangwan on the base, pl.79; a bowl with an identical mark but with an everted rim, pl.80; and an unmarked example attributed to the 18th century, pl.82. Another moulded gourd bowl of this form with similar Qianlong shangwan mark is illustrated in Wang Shixiang, The Charms of the Gourd, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 43, fig. 9, and p. 76, fig. 9.