A UNUSUAL LARGE PALE GREYISH-GREEN JADE ARCHAISTIC POURING VESSEL, YI

18TH/19TH CENTURY

Details

A UNUSUAL LARGE PALE GREYISH-GREEN JADE ARCHAISTIC POURING VESSEL, YI
18TH/19TH CENTURY
The broad body carved in shallow relief around the sides and on the spout with a wide band of taotie masks between a band of birds with long curling tail feathers at the rim and a band of kui dragons around the foot, the handle carved with further archaic bronze designs below the prominent pierced tab finely carved with a taotie mask, the stone of pale grey-green tone with areas of russet mottling
8 11/16 (22 cm.) long

Provenance

C.T. Loo, New York, January 1960.

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Lot Essay

The form of the present lot is based on ritual vessels of the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1100-771 BC), such as the bronze yi sold in these rooms, 21 September 2000, lot 167. While the ancient bronze prototypes typically have four short legs rather than an oval foot, it is interesting to note the similarity of the elaborately cast dragon-form handle on the Western Zhou example to the carving on the handle on the present vessel. Compare the yi-form vessel carved from stone of similar color dated to the early Ming dynasty in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Liu Yang and E. Capon, Translucent World, Chinese Jade from the Forbidden City, p. 144, no. 89. Unlike the present example, which is carved with archaistic designs, the Palace Museum example is carved in shallow relief on the exterior with leafy lychee branches.

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