Page 88 - Sotheby's Important Jades, Amber & Hardstones Oct. 3, 2018

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A RARE WHITE JADE ARCHAISTIC JADE 清乾隆 白玉饕餮紋角盃
RHYTON
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD
superbly worked, the well-hollowed horn-shaped vessel
depicted issuing from the mouth of a mythical beast portrayed
with an inverted taotie mask, the upturned handle of the vessel
further rendered in the form of the horned beast’s mane and
scaly tail, the exterior divided into three main registers of
scrollwork with two rope-twist bands, all skilfully worked in
low relief below a keyfret border encircling the undulating rim,
wood stand
10.3 cm, 4 in.

HK$ 400,000-500,000
US$ 51,000-64,000
This charming rhyton embodies the Qing imperial taste for
archaism and miniatures. While large vessels were striking
for their size and embodiment of the splendour of the Qing
dynasty, the beauty of the miniature lies in the extraordinary
level of craftsmanship. Jade vessels of rhyton form have been
recorded since antiquity, such as one excavated from the tomb
of the King of Nanyue, dating to circa 122 BC, illustrated in
Peter Lam, Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue, Hong
Kong, 1991, pl. D44. The style of the present piece follows
in the tradition developed from the Song dynasty, with the
vessel emerging from a monster head base and a tail-shaped
handle; see a larger caramel-brown jade rhyton attributed
to the Song dynasty, from the Cunliffe collection, included
in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition The Arts of the
Sung Dynasty, London, 1960, sold at Bonhams London, 11th
November 2002, lot 1, and again in these rooms, 9th October
2012, lot 3137; a celadon and russet jade version, attributed
to the Ming dynasty, sold in our London rooms, 9th November
1954, lot 118, and possibly the same piece sold twice in these
rooms, 21st May 1985, lot 303, and 8th April 2007, lot 820;
and another of light brown tone, with additional chilong carved
in high-relief, sold in our New York rooms, 23rd September
1995, lot 232.

86 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比