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Lot Essay
Archaism and Innovation – A Qianlong Period White Jade Washer
Dr Ivy Chan, Independent Scholar
This remarkable jade washer was produced at the height of jade production under the Qing court, demonstrating the lapidary’s refined skill and the exceptional quality of Qianlong-period (1736-1795) jades. On one side of this washer, a young boy holding a flaming pearl teases a dragon that is clambering onto another side of the vessel. The boy stands on cloud scrolls, signifying his celestial status. Opposite him stands a taller boy dressed as a scholar, holding a ruyi sceptre symbolising ‘fulfilled wishes’. The garments worn by the boys are subtly swept to one side, adding a sense of movement to the playful scene. This washer’s uncarved exterior emphasises the jade’s natural unctuousness. While existing studies on jade carving have examined how successful military conquests in the 1750s increased access to sources of jade in the Hetian region, tracing how these jade boulders were sent to jade workshops in Beijing, Suzhou, and Yangzhou, this essay instead focuses on the unique choice of subject on this jade washer, to demonstrate how jade carvings of this period can be rooted in antiquity, while simultaneously instilled with new creativity.
This washer closely relates to two groups of jade carvings – the first group consists of round receptacles (cups, washers, waterpots, bowls or censers) supported on either a short ring foot or small, separate raised feet, flanked by a pair of handles shaped as twin figures. These figures are depicted facing each other, their arms raised with their hands holding onto the rim of the vessel. The Palace Museum in Beijing has a Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) example with twin boys, its exterior elaborately decorated with a scene of female musicians (Zhongguo Meishu Quanji – Gongyi Meishu Bian 9 Yuqi, Beijing, 1986, p. 156, no. 277). Two later cups dating to the Qianlong period from the same Palace Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art are similarly carved on the exterior with figural scenes, their handles formed as twin female immortals (ibid., pp. 108-109 & 177, no. 306 & James Watt, Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing, New York, 1980, p. 159, no. 131 (previously dated to the 13th-14th century, the latter has been reattributed to the Qianlong period)). Watt suggests that these female immortals imitate flying figures of the Liao-Jin tradition (10th-13th century) (Watt, ibid., p. 159).
The Palace Museum in Beijing has a relatively minimal version of these cups, with twin boys and a plainly carved exterior (Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, ibid., p. 107 & 174, no. 301). The Qianlong emperor reportedly consulted the jade craftsman Yao Zongren on this archaistic piece in 1753, when Yao oversaw jade carving at the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshop) (Guo Fuxiang, ‘Suzhou Yugong Zai Gongting’, Forbidden City, 2016, vol. 8, p. 86). Yao revealed that this vessel was created by his grandfather in the early Qing (1644-1911), and explained how the colour of ancient jade was imitated by dyeing it with liquidised amber and heating it at a low temperature (ibid.). The emperor subsequently composed the imperial poem ‘Ode to A Jade Cup’ which recorded this dyeing technique, and ordered the poem to be engraved on a zitan stand that was fitted for the piece. (Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, ibid., p. 107 & 174, no. 301; Guo Fuxiang, ibid., pp. 86-87). Two other analogous Qing washers are also in Beijing’s Palace Museum (The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 199-200, nos. 163-164); one is detailed with a curved spout and both have twin boys holding auspicious items.
Apart from jade vessels with ‘twin boy’ handles, those with ‘twin dragon’ handles can be found in even larger quantities, especially during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing periods when ‘twin dragon’ cups were popular (see a Ming washer with chilong handles; Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, ibid., p. 106 & 172, no. 298). However, the combination of a dragon with two boys, as seen on the current jade washer, is incredibly rare. One unusual Southern Song period (12th-13th century) example showing a pair of handles formed by a dragon and a boy is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Ming Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, p. 43, no. 40) (fig. 1). While the boy and the dragon are positioned opposite each other, the boy’s face is slightly turned to his left, distinguishing this vessel from aforementioned examples where the twin figures directly face each other.
The second group of jade carvings to which the present washer relates features freer depictions of three boys on a vessel. In contrast to the first group, these boys are unrestricted to a formal pose where they are modelled facing each other. As such, they appear ornamental and do not clearly serve a functional role as handles, since they are difficult to grasp. Each boy is shown in a different pose, conveying a sense of liveliness that is associated with the wish for fecundity, fertility, and many generations of healthy sons. One example is a 17th century white jade vessel with archaistic brown staining from the Sammy Chow Collection (Watt, ibid., p. 163, no. 137). Two Qing dynasty examples are in the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, including a waterpot surrounded by boys holding auspicious objects (this was previously dated to the Ming dynasty; see René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, p. 98, pl. XLII) and another showing boys climbing on the edges of a container (museum no. B60J248). The latter has an inverted bell shape, with tall sides and a flat base, resembling the features of the present washer.
Considering these aforementioned examples, it is discernible that the current washer not only draws inspiration from earlier prototypes featuring twin figures as handles, it is also associated with vessels that depict three boys in more creatively imagined poses. However, this washer appears to be exceptional for combining two boys and a dragon, making it an innovative piece illustrating a unique subject. Over the years, it has been appreciated by distinguished connoisseurs, including George Francis Warre. Born in 1876 in Portugal, he inherited the collection of Captain A. T. Warre (also known as Captain Annesley Tyndale) of Hove, Sussex. A keen admirer of Chinese ceramics and hardstones, Captain Warre was an important lender to the groundbreaking International Exhibition of Chinese Art held at the Royal Academy in London from 1935 to 1936. Items from the Warre Collection subsequently entered the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the National Trust (now held at Dudmaston, Shropshire) and the Art Gallery and Museum at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.
Dr Ivy Chan, Independent Scholar
This remarkable jade washer was produced at the height of jade production under the Qing court, demonstrating the lapidary’s refined skill and the exceptional quality of Qianlong-period (1736-1795) jades. On one side of this washer, a young boy holding a flaming pearl teases a dragon that is clambering onto another side of the vessel. The boy stands on cloud scrolls, signifying his celestial status. Opposite him stands a taller boy dressed as a scholar, holding a ruyi sceptre symbolising ‘fulfilled wishes’. The garments worn by the boys are subtly swept to one side, adding a sense of movement to the playful scene. This washer’s uncarved exterior emphasises the jade’s natural unctuousness. While existing studies on jade carving have examined how successful military conquests in the 1750s increased access to sources of jade in the Hetian region, tracing how these jade boulders were sent to jade workshops in Beijing, Suzhou, and Yangzhou, this essay instead focuses on the unique choice of subject on this jade washer, to demonstrate how jade carvings of this period can be rooted in antiquity, while simultaneously instilled with new creativity.
This washer closely relates to two groups of jade carvings – the first group consists of round receptacles (cups, washers, waterpots, bowls or censers) supported on either a short ring foot or small, separate raised feet, flanked by a pair of handles shaped as twin figures. These figures are depicted facing each other, their arms raised with their hands holding onto the rim of the vessel. The Palace Museum in Beijing has a Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) example with twin boys, its exterior elaborately decorated with a scene of female musicians (Zhongguo Meishu Quanji – Gongyi Meishu Bian 9 Yuqi, Beijing, 1986, p. 156, no. 277). Two later cups dating to the Qianlong period from the same Palace Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art are similarly carved on the exterior with figural scenes, their handles formed as twin female immortals (ibid., pp. 108-109 & 177, no. 306 & James Watt, Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing, New York, 1980, p. 159, no. 131 (previously dated to the 13th-14th century, the latter has been reattributed to the Qianlong period)). Watt suggests that these female immortals imitate flying figures of the Liao-Jin tradition (10th-13th century) (Watt, ibid., p. 159).
The Palace Museum in Beijing has a relatively minimal version of these cups, with twin boys and a plainly carved exterior (Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, ibid., p. 107 & 174, no. 301). The Qianlong emperor reportedly consulted the jade craftsman Yao Zongren on this archaistic piece in 1753, when Yao oversaw jade carving at the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshop) (Guo Fuxiang, ‘Suzhou Yugong Zai Gongting’, Forbidden City, 2016, vol. 8, p. 86). Yao revealed that this vessel was created by his grandfather in the early Qing (1644-1911), and explained how the colour of ancient jade was imitated by dyeing it with liquidised amber and heating it at a low temperature (ibid.). The emperor subsequently composed the imperial poem ‘Ode to A Jade Cup’ which recorded this dyeing technique, and ordered the poem to be engraved on a zitan stand that was fitted for the piece. (Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, ibid., p. 107 & 174, no. 301; Guo Fuxiang, ibid., pp. 86-87). Two other analogous Qing washers are also in Beijing’s Palace Museum (The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 199-200, nos. 163-164); one is detailed with a curved spout and both have twin boys holding auspicious items.
Apart from jade vessels with ‘twin boy’ handles, those with ‘twin dragon’ handles can be found in even larger quantities, especially during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing periods when ‘twin dragon’ cups were popular (see a Ming washer with chilong handles; Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, ibid., p. 106 & 172, no. 298). However, the combination of a dragon with two boys, as seen on the current jade washer, is incredibly rare. One unusual Southern Song period (12th-13th century) example showing a pair of handles formed by a dragon and a boy is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Ming Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, p. 43, no. 40) (fig. 1). While the boy and the dragon are positioned opposite each other, the boy’s face is slightly turned to his left, distinguishing this vessel from aforementioned examples where the twin figures directly face each other.
The second group of jade carvings to which the present washer relates features freer depictions of three boys on a vessel. In contrast to the first group, these boys are unrestricted to a formal pose where they are modelled facing each other. As such, they appear ornamental and do not clearly serve a functional role as handles, since they are difficult to grasp. Each boy is shown in a different pose, conveying a sense of liveliness that is associated with the wish for fecundity, fertility, and many generations of healthy sons. One example is a 17th century white jade vessel with archaistic brown staining from the Sammy Chow Collection (Watt, ibid., p. 163, no. 137). Two Qing dynasty examples are in the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, including a waterpot surrounded by boys holding auspicious objects (this was previously dated to the Ming dynasty; see René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, p. 98, pl. XLII) and another showing boys climbing on the edges of a container (museum no. B60J248). The latter has an inverted bell shape, with tall sides and a flat base, resembling the features of the present washer.
Considering these aforementioned examples, it is discernible that the current washer not only draws inspiration from earlier prototypes featuring twin figures as handles, it is also associated with vessels that depict three boys in more creatively imagined poses. However, this washer appears to be exceptional for combining two boys and a dragon, making it an innovative piece illustrating a unique subject. Over the years, it has been appreciated by distinguished connoisseurs, including George Francis Warre. Born in 1876 in Portugal, he inherited the collection of Captain A. T. Warre (also known as Captain Annesley Tyndale) of Hove, Sussex. A keen admirer of Chinese ceramics and hardstones, Captain Warre was an important lender to the groundbreaking International Exhibition of Chinese Art held at the Royal Academy in London from 1935 to 1936. Items from the Warre Collection subsequently entered the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the National Trust (now held at Dudmaston, Shropshire) and the Art Gallery and Museum at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.