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Chinese 18th century blue and white large jar
Reference
6150
Framed Height
23 cm (9")
Kangxi Blue and White Large Jar painted with a writhing dragon amongst clouds and thunder bolts around the side. The jar was made for export at Jingdezhen to Europe.
Although dragons were significant in folklore and imperial insignia the four toed dragon on jars and obvious export shaped pieces were more associated with good export ware
The dragon in Chinese folk lore was not the evil dragon of Celtic mythology but a benign and compassionate creature unless it was antagonised.
The dragon was thought to be made of nine different animals, the head of a camel, horns of a deer, ears of an ox, eyes of a hare, body of a snake, belly of a silk worm, scales of a carp, claws of an eagle and pads of a tiger. Nine being a yang number the nine resemblances were highly significant
The original lid has been lost and replaced by a wooden one
Although dragons were significant in folklore and imperial insignia the four toed dragon on jars and obvious export shaped pieces were more associated with good export ware
The dragon in Chinese folk lore was not the evil dragon of Celtic mythology but a benign and compassionate creature unless it was antagonised.
The dragon was thought to be made of nine different animals, the head of a camel, horns of a deer, ears of an ox, eyes of a hare, body of a snake, belly of a silk worm, scales of a carp, claws of an eagle and pads of a tiger. Nine being a yang number the nine resemblances were highly significant
The original lid has been lost and replaced by a wooden one
Framed Height
23 cm (9")
Year
c 1700
