Of rounded mouth, long neck, sloping shoulders, straight body and slightly flaring footrim, the form originates from the shape of chess ‘backgammon’ . Applying underglaze blue and red, kui-dragon is painted crossing the neck and the body. It was used as a display vessel for flower arrangements. Width:11.5cm, Height:20.5cm, Auction Result Comparison: Compare a closely related ‘Mallet’ vase, also dated to Kangxi period and of similar appearance, but fully underglazed blue decoration, at Christie’s New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, on 15th September 2017, lot1201, sold for USD40,000. Compare also a related mallet vase decorated in copper red and underglaze blue, at Christie’s New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 19 September 2014, lot 795, sold for USD 47,500. Literature Comparison: For a closely related vase from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing. Provenance: Private estate collection from Toshio Nomura. Toshio Nomura (1930-2014) was a Japanese businessman in Kansai area and a private collector. His maternal grandfather, Hisashi Ueno, began working at the Tianjin Concession Consulate in 1913. During his 27 years in China, he collected a large number of Chinese works of art, with a wide range of interests, particularly in porcelain and metal pieces. WALNUT TREE AUCTION HOUSE provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater.