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Lot Essay
Hindustan jades, or jades influenced by the Mughal style, became popular under the Qianlong Emperor's reign (1736-95). The skill of Indian lapidaries made a deep impression on the Qianlong Emperor during the mid-reign, elevating these fine and intricate jade pieces to equal, and sometimes even higher status than locally carved wares. At some time around 1760, a Palace workshop known as the 'Tibetan Workshop' was established to carve such wares, and the style continued into the first half of the nineteenth century. It was revived again during the Republican period. Such wares are characterized by a unique hybrid style which incorporates complex Indian design and its preference for thinness and high polish into distinctive Chinese forms.
Another example of the delicately carved Mughal group from the Bob C. Stevens Collection is illustrated by H. Moss in Chinese Snuff Bottles, No.4, p. 35, fig. 2. A Mughal-style bottle (with openwork carving around the neck) was sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 27 September 1989, lot 1665; another with acanthus leaf borders typical of the rococo style is illustrated by D. Low in More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, no. 58; while two more comparable examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum are illustrated by H. White, Snuff Bottles from China, pl. 8, figs. 1 and 2.
Another example of the delicately carved Mughal group from the Bob C. Stevens Collection is illustrated by H. Moss in Chinese Snuff Bottles, No.4, p. 35, fig. 2. A Mughal-style bottle (with openwork carving around the neck) was sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 27 September 1989, lot 1665; another with acanthus leaf borders typical of the rococo style is illustrated by D. Low in More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, no. 58; while two more comparable examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum are illustrated by H. White, Snuff Bottles from China, pl. 8, figs. 1 and 2.