QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Parfumiers were not only used for fragrance but were also used to repel insects. Reticulated perfume-holders, commonly made of other materials such as bamboo, were filled with camphor or other insect repellents and placed among cloth or quilts to protect them from moths. Compare the present parfumier to another similarly carved parfumier from the Qianlong period in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and illustrated by Ming Wilson in Chinese Jades, pp. 53-55, no. 55. The present parfumier can also be compared to an imperial inscribed jade parfumier from the Qianlong period, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2011, lot 1032.