A JADE PHOENIX ARCHAISTIC VESSEL, RHYTON OR GONG...

A JADE PHOENIX ARCHAISTIC VESSEL, RHYTON OR GONG
China, Qing Dynasty, 19th century
The lower part with a recumbent phoenix with curly feathers turning its head. The upper part with a large opening unveiling a very well hollowed inner part.
H: 7,5 cm - L: 9,5 cm - w: 3,5 cm
Weight: 250 grams

Provenance:
> Private Collection;
> Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953), O. Ramos Oromi y Cia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 27th, 28th and 29th 1936, lot 278.
> Joseph Vallot (1854-1925), Drouot, Paris, Messrs Lair-Dubreuil and Portier, November 16th, 17th, 18th 1925.

Notes:

1. Jades carved in the style of archaic bronzes were especially popular in the Qing court during the 18th century. There are several known Qing examples of archaistic jade rhytons supported on mythical birds or beasts. One example is in the Von Oertzen collection of Chinese jades, illustrated by S. Howard Hansford, Jade: Essence of Hills and Streams, London, 1969, p. 136, no. D28; another is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 169, no. 137.

2. Compare with a related jade phoenix rhyton at public auction, Sotheby's London, 2012/05/16, lot 198. Also compare with another jade phoenix rhyton sold at Christie's London, 2012/11/06, lot 12.

3. Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953) was the President of the banking house of Ernesto Tornquist Co., Ltd., and a member of a prominent Argentinian family. A person of influence, he is also known to have played a crucial role in helping to avoid a war between Argentina and Chile in 1902 by managing the British mediation in the border dispute. Throughout the years, he maintained a close friendship with Argentina Presidents Julio A. Roca (1843-1914) and Carlos Pellegrini (1846-1906).

4. Joseph Vallot (1854-1925) was a French astronomer, geographer, naturalist, alpinist and patron of arts and sciences, who studied botanic and geology in Paris and later became the President of the Club Alpin Français. In 1875, he fell in love with Mont Blanc and later on built up the first observatory there called "Refuge Vallot" where he did install a Salon Chinois which received famous visitors including Pope Pius XI. His large collection of Chinese jades was sold at Drouot in 1925 as a signature / single collection / Estate Sale.