LATE MING-QING DYNASTY, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

Archaistic jade rhytons of this type have their antecedents in jade rhytons of Han dynasty date, such as the example from the Han dynasty tomb of the King of Nanyue, illustrated by J. Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum, 1995, p. 70, fig. 61. This Han jade vessel (18.4 cm.) is in the shape of a horn that rises from a twisted, bifurcated tail-form handle at the bottom, and is incised around the sides with scroll decoration. By the Song and Ming dynasties, and into the Qing dynasty, this shape was modified and the sides were carved with bands of decoration inspired by that found on bronzes and jades of Eastern Zhou dynasty, as well as Han dynasty, date, often with the addition of chilong carved in high relief.