A FINE AND EXCEPTIONALLY RARE WHITE JADE POURING VESSEL, YI

Details

A FINE AND EXCEPTIONALLY RARE WHITE JADE POURING VESSEL, YI
QING DYNASTY, FIRST HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY

Of shallow form supported on three short splayed feet, one side of the circular receptacle forming a ruyi-shaped flanged handle, finely carved with ruyi-heads enclosing a circular medallion, the opposing side with a tapered angular spout, the interior subtly carved with curled leaves gracing the well, each terminating in stylised scrolls, the stone of an attractive even white tone
7 1/2 in. (19 cm.) wide, stand

Provenance

N.B. Pilcher, London
Marchant and Son, London, circa 1990

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003-December 2004

Lot Essay

This unique and elegant vessel is reminiscent of stoneware and ceramic water-pouring vessels of the earlier Song and Yuan periods. Compare the shape with a Yuan dynasty blue and white ceramic example in the Anhui Provincial Museum collection, illustrated in Underglaze Blue and Red, (ed.) Wang Qingzheng, Shanghai Museum, 1987, no. 17. It has been mentioned that the ceramic form was a prototype of earlier washers that were made of bronze, silver or lacquer, ibid., p. 235.

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