each finely potted with rounded sides rising steeply from a short foot to a slightly flared rim, the exterior enamelled in iron red with two five-clawed dragons grasping for flaming pearls with outstretched talons, one with head turned back looking over its shoulder with the other striding closely behind, all above turbulent waves cresting with foams, the mouth and foot with double-line borders in underglaze blue, inscribed to the base with a six-character reign mark within a double square

Marchant，倫敦

Marchant，《Recent Acquisitions 2012. Important Chinese Porcelain from Private Collections》，倫敦，2012年，編號8

The pair is in overall very good condition with the iron red generally well preserved.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

These striking and rare cups display the great artistic and technical advances made at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen under the patronage of the Yongzheng Emperor, which enabled craftsmen to produce small thinly potted wares and decorate them with exquisitely detailed designs. While cups of this design were made from the late Ming dynasty, the decorative potential of iron-red was only fully grasped during the Yongzheng reign. By creating a thin, opaque glaze craftsmen could render meticulous motifs, such as dragons, which could not be achieved with other thicker and glassier enamels. Vessels that combined iron red with underglaze blue, such as the present, required two firings as iron red had to be fired at a lower temperature than underglaze blue. This second firing, known as 'muffled firing' or petit feu, unavoidably increased the cost and risk of failure.

A closely related pair of cups, from the Paul and Helen Bernat collection, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World Great Collection, 1980, Tokyo, 1980, pl. 258; another from the collection of H.M. Knight, included in the exhibition Oosterse Schatten. 4000 Jaar Aziatische Kunst, Rijksmuseum Museum, Amsterdam, 1954, cat. no. 382, was sold in our London rooms, 12th May🗹 1970, lot 101; and a singl🎃e cup from the collections of R.F.A. Riesco and Beatrice and Henry Goldschmidt, was sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1984, lot 372, and twice in these rooms, 13th November 1990, lot 30, and 27th April 1999, lot 436.

For the prototype of this design, see a Jiajing mark and period cup in the Huaihaitang collection, included in the exhibition Enlightened Elegance. Imperial Porcelain of the Mid to Late Ming, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2012, cat. no. 76; and a Longqing period example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Tokyo, 1978, vol. III, pl. 54.