Page 164 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

136≈ The exquisite jewel-like washer is exceptional in the quality of
AN EXCEPTIONAL APPLE-GREEN JADEITE the lustrous translucent apple-green tone jadeite stone, visibly
‘CHRYSANTHEMUM’ WASHER demonstrated in the unadorned sides. The masterful carving of the
Qianlong/Jiaqing craftsman is evident in the complex auspicious chrysanthemum form,
Exquisitely carved in the form of a chrysanthemum with lobed petals, the raised and slightly flared ruyi feet and the crisply carved relief
the interior with a roundel in raised relief of leafy vines bearing three decoration in the interior depicting intertwined leafy melons.
lobed melons and two butterflies, all raised on four short splayed
bracket feet, the translucent stone with bright apple-green striations In the centre of the dish is a finely carved melon, or (gua 瓜). Because
and cloudy inclusions, box. of the melon’s many seeds, it became a symbol of progeny. Together
10cm (4in) diam. (2). with butterflies (die 蝶), which is a homophone for another type
of melon (die 瓞), a rebus is created for ‘the blessing of ceaseless
£20,000 - 30,000 CNY180,000 - 280,000 generations of sons and grandsons’ (guadie mianmian 瓜瓞綿綿). This
HK$220,000 - 330,000 blessing originates from a line in a poem included in the ‘Classic of
Poetry’ (Shi Jing 詩經), China’s most ancient anthology of poetry.
清乾隆/嘉慶 翠玉瓜瓞綿綿紋葵瓣小盤
This phrase carried a particularly auspicious meaning during the New
Provenance: a distinguished English private collection, Year’s Eve ceremony and would have been a suitable imperial gift or
and thence by descent special commission. For a related larger chrysanthemum form jadeite
dish, dated to the Qianlong period, but with openwork handles, see
來源： 顯貴英國私人收藏，並由後人保存迄今 The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, London, 2013, pp.86-87.

This lot is accompanied by a certificate from the Gemmological Compare with a Qianlong/Jiaqing period jadeite bowl which sold in our
Certification Services dated 1 March 2016 rooms, 7 November 2013, lot 159.