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Lot Essay
The form of the present cup is based on metal vessels, in particular the lobed silver and gilt cups from the Tang dynasty which were inspired by Near Eastern designs. See, for example, three cups formerly in the Carl Kempe Collection, illustrated by B. Gyllensvard, Chinese Gold & Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pp. 166-69, nos. 108 and 109 (gilt-bronze cups with ribbed stems) and no. 110 (a silver cup with lobed sides and foot).
Stem cups carved from jade are rare, not least since the form, which is well-suited to the craft of repoussé metal working, presents a much greater challenge to the jade carver. It also necessitates a high degree of wastage of the precious jade to hollow both the bowl and the stem. A few examples of plain-sided, circular cups are known, but more elaborate lobed examples are even rarer.
One very similar stem cup, also dated to the Ming dynasty, is illustrated by Yun Xi Zheng, The Collection of Jades in the Tianjin City Art Museum, p. 236, no. 189-190. A related example carved with lotus petals on the exterior of the cup is illustrated by Marchant, Chinese Jades from Tang to Qing, 2010, no. 119, pp. 162-63.
Stem cups carved from jade are rare, not least since the form, which is well-suited to the craft of repoussé metal working, presents a much greater challenge to the jade carver. It also necessitates a high degree of wastage of the precious jade to hollow both the bowl and the stem. A few examples of plain-sided, circular cups are known, but more elaborate lobed examples are even rarer.
One very similar stem cup, also dated to the Ming dynasty, is illustrated by Yun Xi Zheng, The Collection of Jades in the Tianjin City Art Museum, p. 236, no. 189-190. A related example carved with lotus petals on the exterior of the cup is illustrated by Marchant, Chinese Jades from Tang to Qing, 2010, no. 119, pp. 162-63.