A GREEN JADE HANGING ARCHAISTIC VASE AND COVER

18TH/19TH CENTURY

Details

A GREEN JADE HANGING ARCHAISTIC VASE AND COVER
18TH/19TH CENTURY
Of flattened bulbous form and raised on a shallow pedestal foot, well carved in low relief on either side with a large taotie mask divided by vertical notched flanges repeated on the undecorated narrow sides, all beneath a pendent leaf band on the short neck which is flanked by two lugs attached to the ruyi-head terminals of the arched handle, the cover divided into quadrants by rows of notched flanges beneath a petal lappet border and the knop finial, the stone of dark mottled green color
9¾ in. (24.8 cm.) high to top of handle, two wood stands

Provenance

Spink & Son, Ltd., London.

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Lot Essay

The present jade vessel and cover is based on an ancient bronze you, or ritual wine vessel of the Western Zhou dynasty (1100-771 BC). While the present example is purely decorative and did not serve ritual purposes, it attests to the great popularity of archaism evident during the mid-Qing dynasty, fostered by the three great emperors: Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, who were all avid collectors of antiques. The method of display, with an elaborate wood stand suspending the vessel from its handle above a second, smaller stand, bears strong resemblance to a white jade you, cover and stand illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadeware III, Hong Kong, 1995, p. 186, no. 152, where it is dated to the Qianlong period. (Fig.1) It is also important to note the similarity in carving style, with notched flanges adorning the sides of both vessels.

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