Page 39 - Sothebys Fine Chinese Art London, November 2018

In its material quality, craftsmanship, form, and

decorative programme, the present washer embodies

the distinctive qualities of mid-Qing imperial jade.

Dr. Xu Lin

period jade washers based on plant forms. After the Song dynasty, 1. International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-6, cat. no. 2806.
2. Hu Jian, ‘Percival David and the 1935 London International Exhibition of Chinese Art’, Wenwu
jade washers became more common, but initially they were used
shijie, 2009:6. China Second Archive and Liu Nannan, eds., ‘Select Historical Sources for the Beijing
primarily for washing brushes and thus limited in size. During
Palace Museum’s Participation in the London International Exhibition of Chinese Art’, Minguo
the Qing dynasty and especially the Qianlong period, jade washers dang’an, March 2010.
underwent a significant evolution; they retained the basic Ming- 3. Stanley Charles Nott, Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, London, 1936.
dynasty form but came to serve various display purposes as well. 4. China First Archive and the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, ed., Qinggong
Neiwufu Zaobanchu dang’an zonghui [Complete compilation of the archival material of the Qing
Reading through the records of the Qing Palace Workshop dynasty imperial workshops], Beijing: Renmin chuban she, 2005, vol. 52, p. 621.
(Zaobanchu), one notices an interesting phenomenon: the titles of 5. Ibid., vol. 53, p. 132.
6. Ibid., vol. 55, p. 123.
washers often directly mention the existence of two, four, or even
7. Qinggong chenshe dang [Display archive of the Qing palace], internet version, p. 08972 (Chen 211,
six rings, allowing the reader immediately to understand the vessel dated to the first day of the seventh month of the 18th year of the Daoguang reign, 1838).
types. By contrast, the titles of jade pan dishes never mention the 8. Yang Tianyu, ed., Liji yizhu [Annotated Book of Rites], Shanghai: Shanghai guji chuban she, 1997,
existence of such rings or feature even the character for ‘ring’. It is inner chapter 12, p. 452.
9. Xu Shen, ed., Shuowen jiezi, Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1963, vol. 11, first part, p. 237.
evident that the Qing court did not regard such washers as the same
10. Quzhoushi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, ‘Zhejiang Quzhoushi Nansong mu chutu qiwu’ [Objects
vessel type as pan, which are frequently mentioned in its records. excavated from a Southern Song tomb in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province], Kaogu, November 1983.
These records indicate that pan at the Qing court referred mostly
to dining utensils and other food containers serving practical
purposes. By contrast, the present monumental jade washer
with six rings is a work of innovative archaism created under the
auspices of the Emperor himself, its primary purpose being display
and aesthetic appreciation.

In its material quality, craftsmanship, form, and decorative
programme, the present washer embodies the distinctive
qualities of mid-Qing imperial jade.

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 37