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Lot Essay
During the Qianlong period, the Emperor took great interests in antiquities and a variety of works of art rendered in different media, such as jade carvings, found their inspiration from treasures that were already collected within the Forbidden Palace, such as the bronze hu dating to the Zhou dynasty illustrated in the woodblock printed catalogue Xiqing Gujian, 'Inspection of Antiques', (fig. 1), which was published under the auspices of the Qianlong Emperor. The present vase followed the same archaic reference in its shape and motifs, and further strengthened in its affirmation by the mark inscribed on its base, Qianlong Fanggu, 'Imitating the Ancient (by Emperor) Qianlong'.
The present hu is of exceptional size which required a substantially large rough boulder in order to create such an impressive vase, and its expense would have been considerable. A smaller jade vase measuring 25.5 cm. high of this same elongated intertwined dragon pattern in the Palace Museum Collection is illustrated in Jadeware (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commerical Press, Hong Kong, 1995, p. 180, no. 147, inscribed with six characters in three vertical lines, Daqing Qianlong Fanggu, 'Imitating the Ancient by Qianlong (Emperor) during the Great Qing (period)'. An archaistic spinach-green jade vessel also from the Palace Museum Collection is illustrated op. cit., p. 184, no. 151, incised on its underside base with a vertically incised six-character Fanggu mark. Similar archaistic hu-form vessels also appeared in metalwork as exemplified by the very rare imperial champleve and gilt-bronze archaistic vase, dating to the Qianlong period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2068, (fig. 2).
The present hu is of exceptional size which required a substantially large rough boulder in order to create such an impressive vase, and its expense would have been considerable. A smaller jade vase measuring 25.5 cm. high of this same elongated intertwined dragon pattern in the Palace Museum Collection is illustrated in Jadeware (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commerical Press, Hong Kong, 1995, p. 180, no. 147, inscribed with six characters in three vertical lines, Daqing Qianlong Fanggu, 'Imitating the Ancient by Qianlong (Emperor) during the Great Qing (period)'. An archaistic spinach-green jade vessel also from the Palace Museum Collection is illustrated op. cit., p. 184, no. 151, incised on its underside base with a vertically incised six-character Fanggu mark. Similar archaistic hu-form vessels also appeared in metalwork as exemplified by the very rare imperial champleve and gilt-bronze archaistic vase, dating to the Qianlong period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2068, (fig. 2).