Page 150 - Bonhams May 16, 2019 London Asian Art

This exceptionally lustrous and superbly carved jade bowl epitomises
the highly skilled craftsmanship achieved at the height of the Qing
dynasty, during the celebrated reign of the Qianlong emperor. Marriage
bowls, sometimes referred to as water basins or brush washers, were
popular vessels during the Qing period and were often decorated with
auspicious designs that conveyed felicitous wishes upon the owners.

The superb ‘marriage’ bowl may have been commissioned to mark
an Imperial birthday. Lingzhi fungi are associated with longevity as
well as with the virtues of a good ruler as classical texts, such as the
Shangshu Dazhuan 尚書大傳 and the Baihu Tong Delun 白虎通德
論, compiled during the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) described
the growth of lingzhi as a powerful indicator of good government. In
addition, the taotie masks carved in shallow relief around the body of
the present bowl, ubiquitous designs found on bronze ritual vessels
of the Shang and Zhou dynasties (ca. 1600 BC - 314 BC), recall the
Qianlong emperor’s fascination with antiquity and archaism. Proposing
to ‘restore ancient ways’, referring to the view of ancient culture as
having intrinsic qualities of sincerity, simplicity and happy exuberance,
the emperor instructed the court to collect drawings of antiquities,
such as the Xi Qing Gu Jian (Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities), which
provided the Imperial craftsmen with a primary source of inspiration.
See Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special
Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei,
1997, pp.49-50.

Jade ‘marriage’ bowls of octagonal shape and flanked by four ring
handles are extremely rare. A pale celadon jade octagonal ‘marriage
bowl’, 18th/19th century, bearing a similar shape as the present bowl
but flanked by two handles and carved around the exterior with cranes
and pine trees, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 6 April 2015, lot 47.

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