Vase with Dragon and Pearl Motif

Unlike the fire-breathing, gold-hoarding, and maiden-kidnapping variety in Western mythology, the dragon is a positive symbol in Asia as the bringer of rain and controller of floods and storms.

In this vase, dragons rise dramatically and sinuously from a raging, rocky sea. Considered the highest yang creature in yin-yang symbolism, the dragon came to represent the power and majesty of the emperor, who embodied the highest yang among humanity. Images of dragons with five claws were officially reserved for the imperial family while four- or three-clawed dragons were permitted for lower-ranking nobles and officials, a rule adhered to in ceramics made for the court but less stringently in wares made for the marketplace. In this example, the dragons have four claws, but note that one upraised leg has only three, perhaps a slip of the decorator. Both dragons reach out to grasp the flaming pearl, a symbol interpreted variously as the yang essence, the Buddhist “wish-fulfilling jewel,” thunder, or even the moon.