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Lot Essay
This type of vase is often referred to as a 'champion vase', an appellation translated from the Chinese, ying (eagle) and xiong (bear), describing the two beasts represented, but also forming the pun on the word for 'champion' or 'hero'. Alternately, the vessel is also known as a 'nuptial cup', he jing bei, as it is believed, that during the Ming dynasty, it was used as a ritual wine vessel during the wedding ceremony. The double cylinders were filled with wine to be drunk by the bride and groom as part of the marriage ceremony.
Several vessels of this type, dated to the Qialong period, have been published; one of white jade, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is illustrated by J. Rawson, Chinese Jade throughout the ages, London, 1975, no. 442; another very similar to that example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji - 6 - Qing, Hebei, 1991, pl. 244. A spinach-green jade example bearing a da Qing Qianlong fanggu mark, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 42 - Jadeware (III), Hong Kong 1995, pp. 184-5, pl. 151. See, also, the white jade example sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1 June 2011, lot 3621.
Several vessels of this type, dated to the Qialong period, have been published; one of white jade, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is illustrated by J. Rawson, Chinese Jade throughout the ages, London, 1975, no. 442; another very similar to that example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji - 6 - Qing, Hebei, 1991, pl. 244. A spinach-green jade example bearing a da Qing Qianlong fanggu mark, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 42 - Jadeware (III), Hong Kong 1995, pp. 184-5, pl. 151. See, also, the white jade example sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1 June 2011, lot 3621.