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Lot Essay
COMMANDANT PAUL-LOUIS WEILLER (1893-1993)
Commandant Weiller was celebrated as one of the youngest officers in the French army. He became a war hero thanks to his achievements as a photographic reconnaissance pilot during the First World War, thereby earning him the title of 'Commandant'. In his mid-twenties, he embarked on a career as a buinessman in the aeronautic industry before heading a large company which would later become Air France. During the Second World War, he joined the French Resistance movement against the German occupation. Later he re-started his career in international banking and became one of the most famous aesthetes and philanthropists in France. He revived the tradition of the "Parisian Salon", prevalent in the 18th century, by gathering the finest talents on the international art scene including the playwright, Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), choreographer Maurice Bejart (1927-2007), movie stars Greta Garbo (1905-1990) and Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), and enlightened businessmen and visionary politicians. The American philanthropist John Paul Getty (1892-1976) and French President Georges Pompidou (1911-1974) were among his closest friends. In 1989, President Francois Mitterrand awarded him the Grand Croix de la Legion d'Honneur, France's highest honour. Over the course of his life, he developed major collections of furniture, rare books, silver, gold boxes, jewels and works of art, including the present rare jade carving.
The long inscribed text is a poem written in seven-character stanza, and maybe translated as:
The 'Dragon tail' 'gong' exists since the Three Dynasties (of the Xia, Shang and Zhou),
Often despite being referred to as of Han style.
It is in fact, Hetian jade which came to exist as early as the formation of the universe;
and long before the rise of the Han dynasty.
Although formerly there was no 'gong' among Hetian jade carvings, now the Hetian jade stone, which embodies the quintessence of the earth since remote times,
has been carved into a 'gong'
What is the difference between this 'gong' and the bronze 'zun' of the Shang dynasty and 'you' of the Zhou dynasty?
It does not matter whether it has a volume of five or seven 'sheng'?
How can a piece of fine jade be carved in the same way as a piece of wood?
Vulgar craftsmanship and trendy style do not agree with it.
Inspired by the inclusions on the jade surface,
the jade carver has shaped it into an object reminiscent of the remote past.
Amazingly, traditional skill was used in carving this fine piece of jade.
It embodies the quintessence of the Song celadon and the white [wares] of the Chu region.
Its preciousness is on a par with 'Chidao' (famous sword) and 'Daxun' (Admonition of Ancient Sages), the national treasures of the Zhou dynasty.
I rub it with my hand and contemplate:
While it is easy to produce an archaistic object, is it equally easy to restore the ancient days?
The present jade carving is known as a 'gong'; its name is derived from archaic bronze wine storage vessels which were modelled with lids. The present example, without its lid and a rounded base, most probably derived its shape from trade links with Central or Western Asia during the Han dynasty.
There appear to be three other similar vessels inscribed on the interior with dated poems by the Qianlong Emperor. The first of these, from the Gerald Godfrey Private Collection of Fine Chinese Jades, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 October 1995, lot 905, dated to 1789; the second, from De Breuil Collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2001, lot 511, dated 1786; and the third, formerly from Yamanaka & Co., was sold at Sotheby's Paris, 9 June 2011, lot 23, dated 1787. It is interesting to note that the present vessel with a 1785 date is one of the earliest from this group of archaistic jade carvings.
Commandant Weiller was celebrated as one of the youngest officers in the French army. He became a war hero thanks to his achievements as a photographic reconnaissance pilot during the First World War, thereby earning him the title of 'Commandant'. In his mid-twenties, he embarked on a career as a buinessman in the aeronautic industry before heading a large company which would later become Air France. During the Second World War, he joined the French Resistance movement against the German occupation. Later he re-started his career in international banking and became one of the most famous aesthetes and philanthropists in France. He revived the tradition of the "Parisian Salon", prevalent in the 18th century, by gathering the finest talents on the international art scene including the playwright, Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), choreographer Maurice Bejart (1927-2007), movie stars Greta Garbo (1905-1990) and Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), and enlightened businessmen and visionary politicians. The American philanthropist John Paul Getty (1892-1976) and French President Georges Pompidou (1911-1974) were among his closest friends. In 1989, President Francois Mitterrand awarded him the Grand Croix de la Legion d'Honneur, France's highest honour. Over the course of his life, he developed major collections of furniture, rare books, silver, gold boxes, jewels and works of art, including the present rare jade carving.
The long inscribed text is a poem written in seven-character stanza, and maybe translated as:
The 'Dragon tail' 'gong' exists since the Three Dynasties (of the Xia, Shang and Zhou),
Often despite being referred to as of Han style.
It is in fact, Hetian jade which came to exist as early as the formation of the universe;
and long before the rise of the Han dynasty.
Although formerly there was no 'gong' among Hetian jade carvings, now the Hetian jade stone, which embodies the quintessence of the earth since remote times,
has been carved into a 'gong'
What is the difference between this 'gong' and the bronze 'zun' of the Shang dynasty and 'you' of the Zhou dynasty?
It does not matter whether it has a volume of five or seven 'sheng'?
How can a piece of fine jade be carved in the same way as a piece of wood?
Vulgar craftsmanship and trendy style do not agree with it.
Inspired by the inclusions on the jade surface,
the jade carver has shaped it into an object reminiscent of the remote past.
Amazingly, traditional skill was used in carving this fine piece of jade.
It embodies the quintessence of the Song celadon and the white [wares] of the Chu region.
Its preciousness is on a par with 'Chidao' (famous sword) and 'Daxun' (Admonition of Ancient Sages), the national treasures of the Zhou dynasty.
I rub it with my hand and contemplate:
While it is easy to produce an archaistic object, is it equally easy to restore the ancient days?
The present jade carving is known as a 'gong'; its name is derived from archaic bronze wine storage vessels which were modelled with lids. The present example, without its lid and a rounded base, most probably derived its shape from trade links with Central or Western Asia during the Han dynasty.
There appear to be three other similar vessels inscribed on the interior with dated poems by the Qianlong Emperor. The first of these, from the Gerald Godfrey Private Collection of Fine Chinese Jades, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 October 1995, lot 905, dated to 1789; the second, from De Breuil Collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2001, lot 511, dated 1786; and the third, formerly from Yamanaka & Co., was sold at Sotheby's Paris, 9 June 2011, lot 23, dated 1787. It is interesting to note that the present vessel with a 1785 date is one of the earliest from this group of archaistic jade carvings.