Page 430 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

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PROPERTY FROM A HONG KONG PRIVATE 清乾隆 青玉藥船
FAMILY COLLECTION 「丙」字

A RARE CELADON JADE MEDICINE 來源：
MORTAR AND ZITAN COVER 倫敦蘇富比1995年12月5日，編號162
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG James R. Herbert Boone 收藏，巴爾的摩
PERIOD 紐約蘇富比1988年10月20日，編號223

of elongated crescent form, the raised ends
supported on a pair of flaring hoof-shaped feet
each pierced with two ruyi-head apertures, rising
to an oval-sectioned gallery rim, the stone of
an even celadon tone mottled with milky-white
inclusions and russet veins, surmounted by a
domed zitan cover superbly carved in low relief
with stylised archaistic scrolls around a central
oval cabochon, the underside of the cover with a
raised oval boss incised with the character bing
31 cm, 12¼ in.

PROVENANCE Mark

Sotheby’s London, 5th December 1995, lot 162.
Collection of James R. Herbert Boone, Baltimore.
Sotheby’s New York, 20th October 1988, lot 223.

HK$ 150,000-250,000
US$ 19,200-32,000

Mortars of this type were used for grinding herbs
in making traditional Chinese medicine and were
typically made of metal, stone or wood, with
a wheel fitted on a handle used to roll through
the long cavity. It is extremely rare to find a
jade example and the precious material was
probably intentionally chosen for the imperial
court both for its intrinsic beauty, which has been
highlighted through the restrained decoration,
and its traditional association with immortality
and health benefits.

428 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比