POSSIBLY IMPERIAL, POSSIBLY PALACE WORKSHOPS, 1760-1850

Hindustan jades, or jades influenced by the Mughal style, became popular under the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736-95). The skill of Indian lapidaries made a deep impression on the emperor during the mid-reign, elevating these fine and intricate jade pieces to equal, and sometimes even higher status than locally carved wares. At some time around 1760, a Palace workshop known as the 'Tibetan Workshop' was established to carve such wares, and the style continued into the first half of the nineteenth century. Such wares are characterized by a unique hybrid style which incorporates complex Indian design and its preference for thinness and high polish into distinctive Chinese forms.