Page 84 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF FREDERICK A. AND SHARON L. KLINGENSTEIN
844
A RARE AND LARGE MOTTLED DARK GREEN JADE ALMS BOWL
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The deep vessel with thick sides and rounded base is well-carved in high relief
on the exterior with seven Buddhas seated in dhyanasana. The stone is of
mottled dark green, black and pale-green color.
9Ω in. (24.1 cm.) diam.

$200,000-300,000

PROVENANCE
Eskenazi Ltd., London, 1992.
The exterior of the bowl is masterfully carved in high relief with seven In 1786, he composed a poem titled On a Seven-Buddha Bowl of Khotan Jade,
fgures of Buddha, all seated in dyanasana with two hands folded above with a very informative footnote:
the lap. These seven Buddhas are the historical Buddhas of this world,
namely Vipasya, Siki, Visvabhu, Krokutachan, Nakanakamuni, Kasyapa and “Although the alms bowl in the Kaiyuan Temple is not made of green stone,
Sakyamuni. it is of archaic and elegant form. Upon returning I ordered a fne craftsman
to make one using aloeswood, and inscribed on it with the names of the
The ‘Seven Historical Buddhas’ is considered one of the Qianlong Emperor’s Buddhas and psalms furthermore, because aloeswood is not as durable as
favorite subjects. In 1770, the Emperor composed an essay on the Seven jade, I ordered to have this jade alms bowl made so one can pay tribute to it
Buddhas to be inscribed on a tablet for the newly fnished Seven Buddha forever. (Fifth Compilation of Imperial Poems, juan 27)”
Pagoda Pavilion outside the Forbidden City, see ‘The Eulogy on The Seven-
Buddha-Tower Pavilion’, Qifuota bei ji, recorded in Second Compilation of For a very similar white jade alms bowl in the Beijing Palace Museum, see
Imperial Writings, juan 30. In the essay he mentioned that a Tibetan scroll The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadeware
sent as tribute by the Panchen Lama aroused his curiosity about these (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 146, no. 118. A celadon jade alms bowl with the
seven Buddhas, and he researched various sutras and consulted authorities, name and psalm of each Buddha inscribed on the exterior in the Summer
including his religious mentor, Changkya Rolpai Dorje, about these Buddhas. Palace (Yiheyuan) Collection, is illustrated in The Summer Palace Collection,
Finally he was able to trace their lineage, which was detailed in the essay. Beijing, 2000, p. 53. A spinach-green jade example that bears inscriptions
And it was to commemorate this that the pavilion was built, indicating the of psalms, in the Norton Gallery of Art, is illustrated by S. C. Nott in An
high regard he had for the subject. Illustrated Record of the Stanley Charles Nott Collection of Chinese Jades,
Florida, 1942, p. 348, no. 67. In addition, see a hongmu example with an
In the Tang dynasty, the poet Pi Rixiu (c. AD 834-883) composed a poem incurved rim in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Palace Museum
on a green stone alms bowl in the Kaiyuan temple, supposedly once used by Collection of Elite Carvings, Beijing, 1999, no. 82. See, also, a bamboo alms
the Buddha himself, and somehow found its way to China. Having read the bowl of the same form, also in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in
poem, the Qianlong Emperor made a special request to see this bowl when The Life of Emperor - Qian Long, Museu de Arte de Macau, 2002, no. 104.
he visited the temple on his frst Southern Tour. He was apparently very An aloeswood example with Qianlong’s inscription was sold at Christie’s
taken by the simple and archaic form of the bowl, and ordered the bowl to be London, 15 May 2007, lot 186.
copied in various materials. 清乾隆 青玉浮雕七佛缽

(detail)
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