Dimensions: Height: 55.8cm; Diameter of Mouth: 27.5cm; Diameter of Base: 15.8cm

Origin: Collected by Hunan Administrative Committee for Cultural Relics in 1953

The Third year of Xuantong reign period of Qing Dynasty.

This vase, a huge and tall display ware, features a long neck, drum-shaped belly, and bright and transparent glaze.

Beneath the rim is decorated with the design of two dragons scrambling for a pearl. The main pattern involves a variety of flowers in full blossom, such as lotus, peony, chrysanthemum and morning glory.

As for the production of the vase, a black or coloring line was applied to depict its contour before filling in with color pigments. After high temperature firing, the contour lines disappeared, producing a “boneless painting” effect, typical of porcelains from Liling Kiln.

The vase bears an inscription in black on its surface, “Respectable Minister of Gengyang; Supervised by Yan Yuanshu as a subordinate”, and an inscription in regular script in blue-and-white glaze at the bottom, “Hunan Porcelain Co., Ltd in the third year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty”. The above “Minister of Gengyang” was none other than Duan Fang, a native of Gengyang, who oversaw the construction of the Hubei-Hankou Railway and the Sichuan-Hankou Railway in the third year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty.

This vase was donated by his subordinate when he assumed an official post in Hunan and Hubei Province.