A blue and white 'dragon' censer and cover, Wanli Mark And Period

A blue and white  'dragon' censer and cover, Wanli Mark And Period (1573-1620); 14.8cm., 5 7/8 in. Estimate 40,000-60,000 GBP. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

the body of rectangular section supported on four angular legs and flanked by upright handles, each concave face painted in bright cobalt-blue tones with two confronting dragons in pursuit of a flaming pearl amidst cloud wisps, all above foaming and cresting waves at the feet, the flattened rim and the handles with a keyfret band, the base with a six-character Wanli mark within a double rectangle, the stepped cover painted with the Eight Trigrams divided by flame-like scrolls below waves crashing on rocks and surmounted by a reclining qilin. Quantity: 2 

NOTE: Although Wanli censers of this form complete with a cover are rare, a closely related example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, bk. VI, Hong Kong, 1963, pl. 9. A censer of this type, but lacking its cover, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 177.

Censers of similar form, but flanked with lion mask handles and dragons on the lower register of the body and a reticulated dragon surmounting the cover, include one sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 524; and another sold in these rooms, 4th November 2009, lot 68.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 09 Nov 2011 www.sothebys.com