Dragon vase

[hn2503]

Hi Peter et al,

I came across the following vase with 9 dragons drawn on its surface. It has a mark of Qianlong at the bottom. Since I am not familiar with the overglaze orange/red, the rim, and the dragon drawing of this dynasty, can you give your opinion on the quality of this pot? 

I will add more pictures in the next post, and some of them are through my 20X magnifier.

i) is this hand drawing? In my opinion, it seems to be the case as the lines are thick and thin, i.e. not the same width.
ii) Does the base and the rim of the base look like a vase of 18th century? or a more recent copy in 20th century.
iii) Does the glaze on the vase surface and at the base look correct/old? How about the rush/black spots, recession and graze contractions seen on the surface of the vase?
iv) How about the style/appearance of the 9 dragons? Do the dragon look like ones of Qian dinasty? For example, I can be certain they are not Yuan because their horn do not look like ones of the deer.

I would like to thank you for your help,
Long[attach id=52632]IMG_1402.jpg[/attach]

[hn2503]

Some more pictures of the vase are attached.
Thanks
Long

[hn2503]

Some images though my 20X magnifier.
Thanks

[peterp]

Thanks for the images, they make it easier to evaluate this.
First, I would think this is late Qing or late 19th century, judging by the condition of the bottom.
It cannot possibly be from the 18th century, for several reasons.

This appears to be 'shangping' bottle, a shape that started to be used in the Qianlong reign. If this was Qianlong reign, however, it would have to be imperial ware, but it is apparently from a private kiln.
The mark is written in kaishu characters, but Qianlong marks were predominantly written in zhuangshu characters. The way a specific stroke in the second mark character is painted also would be unlikely in earlier times. Thus it is apocryphal.
The shape of the foot rim would be different (with a worm back) if from the official kiln, and generally the production signs and spots on the bottom would differ.
Then, the five-claws of the dragon would have to be imperial if Qianlong reign, but towards the end of the Qing dynasty the rules concerning the use of five claws by private kilns was not enforced anymore. The tip of the dragon's tail is rounded, which also points to the late Qing dynasty. The rust spots in the glaze indicate age, and a private kiln.
A nice item with coral red dragon decoration from the late Qing dynasty, in my view.

[hn2503]

Hi Peter,
Many thanks for your observations. Of these, your comment on the tail is a surprised and interesting feature. I did look up several examples of dragons during the Ming and early Qian (i.e Kangxi), and indeed they do not have rounded tails. 
Long