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Lot Essay
Vessels of this form were inspired by archaic containers, usually made of bronze, that were used to hold artist's material; coloured pigments were kept in the tubular compartments at each corner closed by wooden stoppers, while the central compartment held a saucer and water for mixing colours. For a discussion by Cheng Te Kun and illustrated comparable archaic vessels, refer to 'The T'u-Lu Colour-Container of the Shang-Chou Period', B.M.F.E.A., no. 37, 1965, p. 239-249; where the author illustrates examples in jade, marble, pottery and bronze.
The present example is unusual in that the cylindrical legs are considerably longer than comparable examples such as the spinach-green jade vessel with dragon-head handles in the Palace Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji, vol. 6, Qing, Hebei Meishu Chubanshe, 1991, no. 89; the container with phoenix-head handles illustrated by R. Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, p. 87, no. 74; and a jadeite vessel from the T. Y. Chao Collection, sold in these Rooms, 25 October 1993, lot 1014.
Compare also vessels of this form but carved with a single band design: a spinach-green jade container, illustrated in Masterworks of Chinese Jade in the National Palace Museum, Japan, 1970, no. 42; and two jadeite vessels with loose handles, the first from the collection of Commander R. E. Gore, illustrated by S. Nott, Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, p. 113, plate CV, and the other was sold in these Rooms, The Imperial Sale, 28 April 1996, lot 12.
White jade vessels of this type are rare and the only other published example appears to be the vessel from the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, is illustrated by d'Argence, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, pl. LV, which is also designed with interlaced dragon motif on the upper body.
The present example is unusual in that the cylindrical legs are considerably longer than comparable examples such as the spinach-green jade vessel with dragon-head handles in the Palace Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji, vol. 6, Qing, Hebei Meishu Chubanshe, 1991, no. 89; the container with phoenix-head handles illustrated by R. Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, p. 87, no. 74; and a jadeite vessel from the T. Y. Chao Collection, sold in these Rooms, 25 October 1993, lot 1014.
Compare also vessels of this form but carved with a single band design: a spinach-green jade container, illustrated in Masterworks of Chinese Jade in the National Palace Museum, Japan, 1970, no. 42; and two jadeite vessels with loose handles, the first from the collection of Commander R. E. Gore, illustrated by S. Nott, Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, p. 113, plate CV, and the other was sold in these Rooms, The Imperial Sale, 28 April 1996, lot 12.
White jade vessels of this type are rare and the only other published example appears to be the vessel from the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, is illustrated by d'Argence, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, pl. LV, which is also designed with interlaced dragon motif on the upper body.