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Lot Essay
A yellow slip is found on the inner lining of the wood stand accompanying the current lot (fig. 1), which is characteristic of slips used in the Qing palace to label objects in the imperial collection, alluding to the imperial provenance of the current finial.
A comparable example is a celadon jade finial carved with dragon and phoenix motifs, dating to the Yuan dynasty, currently in the Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 5, Hebei, 1993, pl. 167. Another example is a white jade reticulated finial with dragon and phoenix motifs, found in the tomb of the Ming Prince Zhu Zhanji in Hubei, illustrated in Liangzhuang Wang mu, Beijing, 2007, col. pl. 156:1. Prince Zhu Zhanji lived between the Yongle and Zhengtong reigns. Hence one can deduce that the jade finial found in his tomb was likely to be made in the Yuan to early Ming period.
It is noteworthy that the dragon on the current finial is double-horned and five-clawed- an imperial symbol strictly exclusive to members of the royal family. Similar finials can also be found on covers of bronze censers in the Qing Court collection, such as the one illustrated in the Yongzheng Guwan tu handscroll in the Percival David Collection, now on long term loan to the British Museum. Together with the yellow slip found on the wood stand, it is very likely that the current finial was once possessed by an elite member of the imperial family.
A comparable example is a celadon jade finial carved with dragon and phoenix motifs, dating to the Yuan dynasty, currently in the Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 5, Hebei, 1993, pl. 167. Another example is a white jade reticulated finial with dragon and phoenix motifs, found in the tomb of the Ming Prince Zhu Zhanji in Hubei, illustrated in Liangzhuang Wang mu, Beijing, 2007, col. pl. 156:1. Prince Zhu Zhanji lived between the Yongle and Zhengtong reigns. Hence one can deduce that the jade finial found in his tomb was likely to be made in the Yuan to early Ming period.
It is noteworthy that the dragon on the current finial is double-horned and five-clawed- an imperial symbol strictly exclusive to members of the royal family. Similar finials can also be found on covers of bronze censers in the Qing Court collection, such as the one illustrated in the Yongzheng Guwan tu handscroll in the Percival David Collection, now on long term loan to the British Museum. Together with the yellow slip found on the wood stand, it is very likely that the current finial was once possessed by an elite member of the imperial family.