XUANDE INCISED SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND FOUR-CHARACTER YUYONGJIAN ZAO MARK, AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)

This exceptionally rare piece is one of only two known examples of Xuande period jade carvings that bear the mark of the Imperial atelier, the 'Yuyongjian'. The other example, also of crescent shape and decorated with a goose/swan being snared by an eagle, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadeware II, Hong Kong, 1995, p.272, no. 208. The Yuyongjian is the Imperial workshop in the Ming period which produced everything from furniture to utensils in jade, cloisonne enamel and lacquer. Although many works of art in other media of the Xuande period bear this mark, it is very rare to find them on jade carvings. James Y.C. Watt suggests in the introduction to the exhibition catalogue Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing that the jade workshop of the Yuyongjian is thought to be located in the Jiangnan area, specifically Nanjing and Suzhou, a theory that is supported by the abundant archaeological excavations in the area.