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Lot Essay
Jadeite comes from a remote part of Burma and attracted the attention, and then the passion of the Qianlong Emperor during the mid-reign, although regular supplies of the stone had to await the normalization of previously bellicose relations between China and Burma in 1784. In the latter part of the Qianlong reign, snuff bottles were regularly made of jadeite for, and at the Court, and its ongoing popularity may be seen in a series of porcelain bottles and other wares with glazes imitating jadeite during the Daoguang period (Moss, Graham and Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, Vol. 1, no. 251). The Palace and other glassworks also made bottles that simulated jadeite in both color and weight (see an example, formerly from the Meriem Collection and sold in these rooms, 19 September 2007, lot 699).
As in the case of other works of art in fine jadeite, the best colored specimens were frequently left plain so that no decoration diverted attention from the natural beauty of the material. Here, the simple and bulbous symmetrical form perfectly complements the unusual degree of translucency, and a good evenness of color, two important characteristics of good jadeite.
As in the case of other works of art in fine jadeite, the best colored specimens were frequently left plain so that no decoration diverted attention from the natural beauty of the material. Here, the simple and bulbous symmetrical form perfectly complements the unusual degree of translucency, and a good evenness of color, two important characteristics of good jadeite.