A RARE SMALL 'CHICKEN BONE' JADE ARCHAISTIC JAR

QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER CARVED SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

A RARE SMALL 'CHICKEN BONE' JADE ARCHAISTIC JAR
QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER CARVED SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
The globular body finely carved in high relief around the sides with three phoenix with spread wings standing on the rim of the shallow waisted foot pierced with narrow slits positioned below archaistic designs carved in low relief on the lower body between the birds, their heads projecting from the waisted neck, each with a pearl grasped in its small beak, the finely polished opaque stone of mottled white, buff and pinkish color
3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) high

Lot Essay

This rare jar is very similar to one with a lotus-pod form cover and a Qianlong seal mark from the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in the exhibition, Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, Chinese Art Foundation, Chicago and San Francisco, 1996, no. 69. Another similar jar from the Palace Museum Collection, without slits in the base, and without a mark, is also illustrated, no. 68. Another very similar jar, but in dark green jade, with a Qianlong mark, is illustrated in Masterworks of Chinese Jade in the National Palace Museum: Supplement, Taipei, 1980, no. 41. These jars and the present jar appear to be based on Tang dynasty prototypes, such as the jade jar illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadeware (II), 1995, no. 33.

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