This dragon bottle is finely decorated overall with a millefiori design in ‘famille-rose’ enamels against a gilt ground. It is applied in deep openwork to the base of the neck with a fierce, writhing four-clawed dragon, pursuing the ‘flaming pearl’, well carved in the same porcelain, the mythical beast coloured a deep coral red, with all the details of his scales and mane picked out in gilding.
The base of the bottle bears a finely drawn iron-red seal mark of the Emperor Qianlong (1735-1795), against a souffle ground of ‘robin’s egg’ enamels, with dark blue and purple speckling on a turquoise ground.
Price £15,000