QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Elaborately embellished hardstone trees in highly ornate jardinières were made to decorate the palace interiors during the Qing dynasty. Three hardstone trees, for example, are placed in situ in the Yanbo Zhishuang Dian at the Chengde Summer Palace, illustrated in The Qing Emperors and the Chengde Mountain Resort, China Tourism Press, 2000. Another similar hardstone prunus tree is illustrated by Michel Beurdeley, The Chinese Collector Through The Centuries. From the Han to the 20th Century, Fribourg, 1966, p. 167.

Compare also to a plum tree with rocks in an enamelled porcelain jardinière, illustrated in Oriental and Islamic Art in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, 1975, no. 15.