CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, XVIIIE-XIXE SIÈCLE

Spinach green jade occupied a particularly important position within the imperial workshops of the Qianlong court. Distinct from the soft, unctuous quality traditionally associated with Hetian white jade, spinach green jade was especially admired for its rich and saturated dark green colouration and its more robust sculptural character. It was frequently employed for large vessels, archaistic ritual forms, and objects intended for palace display. Records preserved in the archives of the Imperial Workshops during the Qianlong period repeatedly mention imperial instructions for the production of archaistic objects in spinach green jade and works deliberately conceived in an ancient style, suggesting that the use of this material reflected more than a simple preference for colour or texture, but formed part of the Qianlong Emperor’s broader antiquarian interests and his pursuit of ancient ritual traditions.
Openwork carving represented one of the most technically demanding achievements in jade craftsmanship. The cover of the present censer is finely pierced with lotus motifs, serving not only an aesthetic function by creating an impression of lightness and visual complexity, but also a practical one. When incense was burned within the vessel, fragrant smoke would gently emerge through the openwork decoration, producing an atmosphere evocative of drifting clouds and subtle veils of incense, an effect particularly appreciated within refined courtly settings. Such carving demanded a material possessing exceptional toughness and structural integrity. The dense and resilient nature of spinach green jade made it especially suitable for intricate openwork carving while reducing the risk of fracture, demonstrating the remarkable technical skill achieved by imperial jade craftsmen.
The survival of a censer and its matching stand, both carved from jade, is also exceptionally rare. Most imperial censers were originally paired with wood stands, while jade stands, owing to the considerable amount of material required and the complexity of their production, appear to have been reserved for objects of the highest level produced by the Imperial Workshops.