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144 The russet-streaked creamy tone of the jade stone
A RARE ARCHAISTIC JADE POURING BOWL is typically associated with the Ming dynasty. The
16th/17th century generous proportions of the pouring vessel suggest
Of compressed globular form, rising to the short it would have been a prized possession. As dragons
waisted neck and everted rim, flanked by a pair in Chinese folklore have strong associations with
of handles, each carved as a joint tongue issuing water, believed to rule moving bodies of water, it
from the open jaws of two confronted dragons, would have been appropriate to use a dragon head
with a separately made dragon-head spout set at to form the spout. Compare a bronze pouring vessel
the centre of the body carved with a main band of with a dragon head-shaped spout and dragon
whirl medallions, between two pairs of confronted tail-shaped handle, illustrated by P.K.Hu in Later
archaistic pacing dragons, and above incised petal Chinese Bronzes: The Saint Louis Art Museum and
panels each enclosing a pair of confronted archaistic Robert E. Kresko Collections, St Louis, 2008, p.68.
dragon-heads, the slightly recessed base with an
archaistic script seal mark, the stone of cream tone The pouring vessel is flanked by a pair of handles.
with brown streaks and cloudy inclusions. For related jade handles on Ming dynasty vessels
25cm (9 7/8in) wide see Zheng Xinmiao, ed., Compendium of Collections
in the Palace Museum: Jade 7 - Ming Dynasty,
£10,000 - 15,000 Beijing, 2010, pls.32-36. Similar ‘whirl’ motifs can
HK$110,000 - 160,000 be found on Ming dynasty jade and bronze vessels;
CNY92,000 - 140,000 for a pale green jade gui, see Zheng Xinmiao,
ibid., pl.32; for a bronze incense burner dated by
十六/十七世紀 玉雕團紋龍鈕缽 inscription to AD1481, see S.Riddell, Dated Chinese
Antiquities 600-1650, London, 1979, pl.123. For a
Provenance: a Belgian private collection related dragon head-shaped spout on a jade vase,
Ming dynasty, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, see
來源： 比利時私人收藏 Zheng Xinmiao, ibid., pl.30.
