Jingdezhen Cobalt Dragon Crackle Double-Gourd Vase

The double-gourd silhouette divides the surface into two distinct fields. A cobalt-blue dragon turns across the lower body above a band of waves, while cloud forms gather around the smaller upper bulb. Fine crackle lines run through the pale glaze without interrupting the larger composition.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a late seventeenth- to early eighteenth-century Jingdezhen triple-gourd vase decorated in underglaze cobalt with a dragon and flowers. The present double-gourd vase belongs to that longer porcelain vocabulary in which stacked gourd forms and dragon imagery reinforce one another: the gourd carries auspicious associations with longevity, while the dragon brings vitality and authority.

At 30 cm high, the vase is suited to a cabinet, console, or study shelf. The narrow waist divides the dragon story into two levels, and the silhouette changes as the piece turns. A fitted wooden display stand is included, and the underside carries a gold-colored decorative character mark.

• Material: Jingdezhen porcelain
• Origin: Jingdezhen, China
• Form: Double-gourd vase
• Surface: Pale crackle glaze
• Decoration: Cobalt-blue dragon, cloud forms and waves
• Height: 30 cm / 11.8 in
• Body diameter: 17 cm / 6.7 in
• Base detail: Gold-colored decorative character mark
• Included: One porcelain vase and one fitted wooden display stand
• Date: Contemporary