A blue and white porcelain vase with broad rounded shoulders, a narrow neck painted with pointed leaves and a high, flared foot. The shoulder is painted with clouds and trailing cloud wisps, and over them coils a dragon modelled in clay and applied in relief, with a finely scaled body, a flowing mane and long whiskers, its surface a warm ochre brown. Below, a band of leaf scroll and a ring of panels enclosing clouds lead to a foot painted with a chrysanthemum scroll.
The tall cover fits over the neck. Its flat top is painted with linked clouds, and its rounded sides with clouds above a lattice band, standing on short feet. The base of the vase is unglazed, fired orange, with concentric throwing rings. We attribute the vase to the late Yuan to early Ming dynasty.
Height 52 cm with cover, 44 cm without · Diameter 30 cm
Learn more: The Ming Dynasty





