A VERY LARGE WHITE JADE ARCHAISTIC VASE AND COVER QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY
of generous proportions, the flattened vessel with a baluster form and rising from a splayed foot to a waisted neck flanked by a pair of mythical beast handles, each suspending a loose ring, the body decorated in low relief with a broad frieze depicting two pairs of confronting kui dragons, each mythical beast with its serpentine body rendered in angular scrollwork, all between pendent and upright archaistic plantain blades bordering the neck and foot, the cover with sloping sides similarly rendered with two pairs of confronting kui dragons, all surmounted with a finial skilfully worked in the form of a powerful lion with its head turned sharply backwards, wood stand
35.6 cm, 14 in.
Provenance:
Fashioned from a boulder of impressive size, this vase pays testament to the Qing court’s keen interest in antiquity, which gave rise to a distinctive aesthetic taste that dictated jade production in the 18th and 19th century. The flattened high shouldered form of this vase is a reinterpretation of bronze hu vessels, while its crisp geometric scroll that terminates in two confronting kui dragons was inspired by motifs on bronzes of the Zhou dynasty (c.1050-221 BC). These were combined with ringed handles in the form growling lions and a standing lion on the cover modelled in the round, which add a contemporary feel.
A vase of similar proportions and carved with a related motif of confronting chilong, was sold at Christie’s London, 28th/29th June 1984, lot 114; a spinach-green jade example was sold at Christie’s Rome, 13th November 1973, lot 223; another of slightly larger proportions, from the collection of Dr John N. Loomis, was sold twice in our New York rooms, 28th February 1980, lot 268 and 28th/29th November 1994, lot 61; and a pair of facetted form, were sold at Christie’s New York, 3rd June 1988, lot 112. A similar motif is also found on the neck of a spinach-green jade vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade, vol. 10: Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2010, pl. 16.
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of generous proportions, the flattened vessel with a baluster form and rising from a splayed foot to a waisted neck flanked by a pair of mythical beast handles, each suspending a loose ring, the body decorated in low relief with a broad frieze depicting two pairs of confronting kui dragons, each mythical beast with its serpentine body rendered in angular scrollwork, all between pendent and upright archaistic plantain blades bordering the neck and foot, the cover with sloping sides similarly rendered with two pairs of confronting kui dragons, all surmounted with a finial skilfully worked in the form of a powerful lion with its head turned sharply backwards, wood stand
35.6 cm, 14 in.
Provenance:
Fashioned from a boulder of impressive size, this vase pays testament to the Qing court’s keen interest in antiquity, which gave rise to a distinctive aesthetic taste that dictated jade production in the 18th and 19th century. The flattened high shouldered form of this vase is a reinterpretation of bronze hu vessels, while its crisp geometric scroll that terminates in two confronting kui dragons was inspired by motifs on bronzes of the Zhou dynasty (c.1050-221 BC). These were combined with ringed handles in the form growling lions and a standing lion on the cover modelled in the round, which add a contemporary feel.
A vase of similar proportions and carved with a related motif of confronting chilong, was sold at Christie’s London, 28th/29th June 1984, lot 114; a spinach-green jade example was sold at Christie’s Rome, 13th November 1973, lot 223; another of slightly larger proportions, from the collection of Dr John N. Loomis, was sold twice in our New York rooms, 28th February 1980, lot 268 and 28th/29th November 1994, lot 61; and a pair of facetted form, were sold at Christie’s New York, 3rd June 1988, lot 112. A similar motif is also found on the neck of a spinach-green jade vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade, vol. 10: Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2010, pl. 16.
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