Provenance

Lottie Reizenstein was born into as assimilated Jewish family in Nuremberg, Germany in 1904. Following the rise of Nazism, she fled to England in 1936, alongside her brother, the composer and pianist Franz Reizenstein, bringing the jar and cover with her. In London she trained at St Martin's School of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and in 1954 she studied with Oskar Kokoschka in Salzburg. She went on to become a well-respected painter and designer, exhibiting in London and Europe between the 1940s and 1960s. Her work is represented in UK public collections including the Ben Uri Collection and the British Museum, with one of her landscapes on permanent display in the Franz Reizenstein Room at the Royal Academy of Music.

A Chinese green enamelled 'Dragon' jar and cover

This green-enamelled jar and cover was made during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795), and the base carries a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue. The jar has a tapering body, a rounded shoulder and a short neck. It is painted in rich green enamel with two five-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls among clouds, with a band of bajixiang (the Eight Buddhist Emblems) and lotus petals around the foot. The flat cover shows a dragon chasing a flaming pearl, with a ruyi border around the side. The jar is 20.5cm high and comes with a wood stand.

The jar represents one of the archetypal designs of imperial porcelain, the green-enamelled dragon. The pattern was first created in the Chenghua period (1465–1487) and remained popular throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. While Ming dragons were mostly incised and reserved in the biscuit before being enamelled in green, Qing examples such as this were often painted in green enamel over the transparent glaze. 'Green dragon' wares were produced over the centuries in many forms, including jars, bowls and dishes.

Closely related vessels are held in public and private collections, including one in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 271, and another in the Tianminlou Collection, illustrated in Chinese Porcelain: The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 114.

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Auction Details

Wednesday 11 & Thursday 12 November, 10.30am GMT
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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Viewing at Dreweatts London (highlights): 16-17 Pall Mall, SW1Y 5LU
Sunday 1 November: 10am-3pm
Monday 2 November: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 3 November: 10am-4pm

Viewing at Dreweatts Newbury (full sale): Donnington Priory, RG14 2JE
Saturday 7 November: 10am-3pm
Sunday 8 November: 10am-3pm
Monday 9 November: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 10 November: 10am-4pm
Wednesday 11 November: 9am-4pm
Thursday 12 November: 9am-11am

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