Heavenly Dragon Tattoo - God forbid!

A large blue and white 'dragon' basin.
mark and period Guangxu.
41.5cm.

I thought it fitting to shed more light on the Heavely Dragon to feature in my projected animation onto my latest ceramic installation titled, and the ship sails on (see two previous posts and also the image above). This was necessary, especially after the enclosed article appeared in our local newspaper, The Star, on Tuesday 26 October.

Visit this useful site for more info.

Ever thought of getting a heavenly dragon tattooed on your back, think twice, especially if you trust a friend to do the honour. Tattooing the Chinese heritage symbol in all its glory on your back is apparently a favourite all over the world . It is China's most significant spiritual animal as Nike recently discovered; they had to withdraw an advertisement that incorporated the slaying of a five clawed dragon - a national heritage symbol of strength and power. The dragon has power over the rain, the wind and water. The heavenly dragon, unlike its European counterpart, is therefore not an evil creature. It promotes good luck as well as warding off evil spirits. There are many forms and shapes of dragons and they all have a different meaning - so beware to carefully research their symbolism, before you choose the dragon that will embrace your back, in all its splendour - in true colour and style (visit the site captured in the image above). More devastating was the experience of an Australian gay guy, whose hopes of his dream image of a Chinese Dragon on his back was shattered, when one of his friends shockingly pointed out that he had indeed experienced an old Russian Prison Tattoo Taboo. 

Instead of a stunning chinese dragon, a 40 cm penis had been tattooed on his back along with a lewd slogan implying he was gay. Your skin is who you are and not your dreams and aspirations, and must reflect your true identity and status in the prison community. Gays, like child molesters, rapers and murderers were despised and were treated as the outcast in Russian prisons. It would seem these views are still harboured in hardened fundamentalists in society today - even amongst our closest and trusted friends. Maybe - to close to comfort !

Ceramic installation paper prototype construction (ballpoint pen drawings)

Ballpoint pen drawing paper prototype construction

For the purpose of this ceramic installation I decided to photostat the ballpoint pen drawings including inspirational images such as the dragon on the moonflask discussed below, to construct a paper prototype that can be altered to develop the creative narrative for the animation and the artist book.

Paper prototype construction.

Landscape of decoy-ducks and three sister 'koppies'
(paper construction of ball point pen drawings)

The dragon to be animated and projected onto the ceramic installation titled, and the ship sails on (see previous post) is taken from a masterfully painted rare blue and white Dragon Moonflask (seal mark and period of Qianlong), cited in a Sotheby's auction catalogue. The moonflask was auctioned in 2007 and fetched $ 2.8 million.

Detail of dragon on rare 'moonflask'

A fine and rare blue and white 'Dragon' moonflask - seal mark and period of Qianlong.

The broad voluptious body set on a short splayed oval foot, the trumpet shaped neck set with a pair of pierced stylised archaic qilong handles, crisply carved with c-scroll motifs, richly painted in deep tones of cobalt blue with a scaly sinuous five-clawed dragon to either side, contesting a centralised flaming pearl, amongst cloud scrolls above a crashing wave border, the neck, foot and sides painted with ten stylised bats.

A fine and rare blue and white Dragon moonflask

This magnificent 'Dragon' moonflask appears to be the only recorded example of a moonflask of this type decorated in blue-and-white. It would have been highly prized by the Qianlong emperor who had penchant for technically innovative and artistically challenging pieces. During his reign the refinement of the material and craftsmanship allowed potters to become highly ambitious in their repertoire. the making of this particular flask required considerable expertise from the potter who borrowed extensively from archaic styles while creating a piece that was contemporary.  

The above images, especially the flask on the left, showcase other examples of moonflasks with painted dragons that may have inspired the potter. (Cited in Sotheby's catalogue, London 7 November 2007:200-201)