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Lot Essay
The form of the current lot is based on an archaic bronze form originating during the late Shang dynasty. A Shang period bronze of similar form, also with raised flanges dividing taotie masks on the long sides and with lappets on the tall, slender legs, in the collection of the Art Council of Great Britain, is illustrated by D. Lion Goldschmidt et. al., Chinese Art, New York, 1980, no. 7. While the decoration on the Shang example is quite complex, that on the current lot is much more simplified and typical of Qing dynasty manufacture.
Several archaistic jade fangding are known. A green jade vessel in the Qing Court Collection, dated to the Qianlong period, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - III - Jadeware, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 189, no. 155. Another related vessel, although with narrow, outward-curved legs, dated to the Qing dynasty and in the collection of the National Palace Museum, is illustrated in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp. 58-9, no. 2. See, also, a slightly smaller white jade fangding with legs of round section and with S-curved handles, dated to the Qianlong period, illustrated by d'Argencé in Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1977, p. 120, pl. LIII.
Several archaistic jade fangding are known. A green jade vessel in the Qing Court Collection, dated to the Qianlong period, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - III - Jadeware, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 189, no. 155. Another related vessel, although with narrow, outward-curved legs, dated to the Qing dynasty and in the collection of the National Palace Museum, is illustrated in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp. 58-9, no. 2. See, also, a slightly smaller white jade fangding with legs of round section and with S-curved handles, dated to the Qianlong period, illustrated by d'Argencé in Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1977, p. 120, pl. LIII.