清乾隆

Very few bowls of this remarkably large size appear to have been published and the original boulder would have been of a considerable size. Two comparable slightly smaller white jade marriage bowls have been sold at auction. The first from the Dexingshuwu Collection, measuring 31.7 cm. wide, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 April 2004, lot 1226; the second from the R.H.R. Palmer Collection, measuring 32 cm. wide, was sold at Bonham's London, 7 November 2005, lot 168.

This type of vessel is known as a 'marriage' bowl, and such bowls, with their carefully chosen auspicious decoration were popular at the Imperial Qing court. Handles on marriage bowls are most commonly carved as bats or dragons. However the unusual use of the butterflies on the current bowl is highly auspicious on a number of different levels and is an appropriate symbol to complement the use of this bowl as a marriage gift. The two handles depicting butterflies facing one another signify the joyful meeting between a man and wife. Another example of a marriage bowl with butterfly handles from the Alan and Simone Hartman Collection was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1503.