Details
A RARE 'CHICKEN-BONE' JADE ALMS BOWL
MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

The steep sides rising to a rounded slightly inturned rim, vividly carved to the exterior in relief with three slender coiling dragons among flames, each finely detailed with cross-hatched scales and twisting dorsal spines, the countersunk base bordered by a band of crested waves, the opaque stone varying from creamy beige to a lustrous dark greyish-brown tone
6¼ in. (15.9 cm.) diam., stand
Provenance
J.J Lally, New York
Literature
Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 46
Exhibited
Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003-December 2004

Lot Essay

The elongated bodies and cross-hatching technique used to depict the dragons' scales bears similarities with contemporaneous depictions of dragons on jade belt plaques prevalent during this period. However, the fine detail and sense of movement in the carving of the dragons on the current piece, not generally found on pieces of this period, highlights this as a particularly fine example of its kind.

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