An extremely rare and superbly painted blue and white 'dragon' jar and cover, Yuan dynasty | 元　青花雲龍紋蓋罐

sturdily potted with high shoulders tapering to a gently waisted foot, the exterior superbly decorated in rich cobalt-blue tones and powerfully decorated with a lengthy four-clawed dragon soaring through ruyi clouds above a border of crashing waves encircling the foot, all below a pendent lappet frieze enclosing Buddhist emblems around the shoulder and a band of waves encircling the neck, the base unglazed, the lotus-leaf cover surmounted by a small curled stem and adorned with thick irregular veins branching out from the centre to the undulating rim

overall h. 36 cm