Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

A RARE CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE DOUBLE-GOURD 'NINE DRAGON' VASE
SIX-CHARACTER JIAQING SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD 1796-1820

The large lower bulb of globular form rising to a curved waist, the upper bulb of slightly compressed globular form rising to a circular mouth, finely painted with nine five-clawed dragons chasing a flaming pearl amongst flames and swirling clouds and above turbulent rolling waves around the foot, all below a ruyi-head border to the neck, 27cm.

From the collection of Sir Richard Henry Chenevix Trench (1876-1954), and thence by descent, the pair to this vase was sold in these rooms in May 2025, lot 127.

After joining the British Army and receiving training at the Royal College at Sandhurst, Trench entered the Indian Army in January 1896, later gaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1901, he joined the Indian Political Department, serving as Resident at Mewar and later in Kashmir, as the first Assistant to the Resident in various places across India. In January 1926, Trench’s services were lent to the Government of Hyderabad. During the reign of Nizam VII, he was appointed as the Revenue Member and served for five years in Hyderabad. He was the first British officer to serve the Executive Council in Hyderabad. For his service he was appointed an O.B.E. in 1919 and was knighted in 1932.

Jiaqing vases of this type are extremely rare and only four other comparable examples are known, see Sotheby's Hong Kong, 31st October 1974, lot 199, Sotheby's Hong Kong 11th April 2008, lot 2831, Sotheby's London, 7th November 2018, lot 70 and Hôtel Drouot, Gros & Delettrez, 22nd April 2022, lot 49 for similar Jiaqing examples.

清嘉慶 青花九龍紋葫蘆瓶
《大清嘉慶年製》青花篆書款
來源：理查·亨利·切內維克斯·特倫奇爵士（1876-1954）收藏，之後由家族傳承。葫蘆瓶本為一對，分別位爵士的後兩位後人繼承，另一尊於本公司2025季春拍售出，編號127。