A SUPERB WHITE JADE VASE AND COVER

Details

A SUPERB WHITE JADE VASE AND COVER
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Of flattened pear shape, exquisitely carved in relief on one side with two deer beneath the spreading branches of a wutong tree, and on the reverse with a pair of cranes perched on rockwork over a flowing river, shaded by a lush pine tree, the tree branches extending up the neck and around the sides, flanked by a pair of winged mythical beast loop handles suspending loose rings, the domed cover and finial with foliate motifs, the stone of a creamy white tone with tiny areas of russet inclusions
11 1/4 in. (28.5 cm.) high, stand

Provenance

N.B. Pilcher, London
Sotheby's, London, 30 October 1987, lot 297 (check!)

Literature

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 141

Exhibited

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

Lot Essay

This vase belongs to a group of exceptional white jade vessels of similar size and carved in matching style. The closest comparison from this group is an example in the Beijing Palace Museum, also carved with deer and cranes, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji, vol. 6, p. 134, no. 208 (see fig. 1); and another similar piece with quails was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 1975, Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, The Oriental Ceramic Society, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 424.

Both the deer and the crane are symbols of longevity, as they are often depicted accompanying the Daoist god of longevity, Shoulao.

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