Vase with Fabulous Animal

This small bottle-shaped vase, with a low globular body and tall straight neck, is painted in underglaze cobalt blue on a white porcelain body. Depicted on the body is a lion with dragon-like qualities. Tufts of hair akin to flames rise from the shoulders and hips, tinted with copper red underglaze. Red rings also appear around the creature's eyes. The lion is depicted scratching at a pine tree with its front paw while a bat, a symbol for happiness, flies overhead. Subdued blue tones are applied in thin lines, exemplified in the thick woven pattern of the pine leaves, the swaying blades of grass, and the lively mane of the lion. Crackling of the glaze is visible on the white body.