CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, MARQUE À QUATRE CARACTÈRES INCISÉE ET ÉPOQUE QIANLONG (1736-1795)

This rare jar is very similar to one with a lotus-pod form cover and a Qianlong seal mark from the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in the exhibition, Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, Chinese Art Foundation, Chicago and San Francisco, 1996, no. 69. Another similar jar from the Palace Museum Collection, without slits in the base, and without a mark, is also illustrated, no. 68. Another very similar jar, in dark green jade, with a Qianlong mark, is illustrated in Masterworks of Chinese Jade in the National Palace Museum: Supplement, Taipei, 1980, no. 41. See a 'chicken bone' jade jar of the same form, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, sold at Christie's New York, 24 March 2004, lot 41. These jars and the present jar appear to be based on Tang dynasty prototypes, such as the jade jar illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadeware (II), 1995, no. 33.