AN UNUSUAL WHITE JADE BOWL

Details

AN UNUSUAL WHITE JADE BOWL
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

The small shallow bowl of quatrefoil section carved around the sides in low relief with archaistic scrollwork, the interior carved in high relief with two boys, one kneeling and holding a ruyi sceptre and the other standing with a back-massager in his hands, the semi-translucent stone of an even white tone with tiny areas of russet inclusions
4 3/8 in. (11 cm.) wide, stand

Provenance

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 22 May 1985, lot 369

Literature

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 176

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003 - December 2004

Lot Essay

For the full-size back-massager as held by one of the boys, see lot 1456 in the present sale. This charming piece could be used as a brushwasher, but the presence of the boys makes this somewhat impractical, so it is more likely that it was made for decoration.

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