AN UNUSUAL SMALL WHITE JADE WATER VESSEL

Details

AN UNUSUAL SMALL WHITE JADE WATER VESSEL
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Ingeniously carved in the form of a phoenix, with the head forming the handle and the tail feathers forming a spout, the sides enveloped by wings carved with feather scrolls, all raised on stylised feet at the base, the stone with good translucency
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) long

Provenance

Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 23 May 1974, lot 98

Literature

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 106

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003 - December 2004

Lot Essay

This unusual vessel owes its inspiration to the bronze vessels of the Warring States period, but the modelling of the phoenix is undoubtedly Qing in style. The tail feathers are cleverly designed to divide the flow of water, and the vessel itself is conceived to be both functional and as a plaything for the scholar's studio.

More from Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman

View All