COUPE LIBATOIRE EN JADE BLANC

This pouring vessel is of yi form and is derived from the similarly shaped bronze vessels from the Zhou dynasty.
A very refine jade libation cup of yi shape, dated Song dynasty, is illustrated in A. Forsyth and B. McElney, Jades from China, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath 1994, p.383, pl.312
Another, dated Ming dynasty is illustrated in Ip.Yee, Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, The Urban Council 1983, pp.238 and 239, pl.213
The current libation cup, although much more refine, illustrates one way the Qing Emperors justified their appropriation of China, using the archaïstic models to legitimate their dynasty and power.