Page 164 - Marchant Ninety Jades For 90 Years

八 87. Square censer and cover, tulu, with two winged animal-head and ring handles, with four cylindrical corners, carved on the exterior

十 in archaic style with a wide band of interlaced dragons with detailed carving to their scales, above a band with central shou character

七 between highly stylised archaic dragons extending towards the button-form feet, the cover with four chilong-dragon medallions at the

corners beneath a high relief standing, coiled, dragon with detailed hairwork and scales, the stone pale celadon.
龍 5 inches, 12.8 cm high.
紋 Late Qianlong, circa 1780.
壽 Wood stand
字

活 • From the collection of Baron George De Menasce.
環 Baron George De Menasce was directly descended from the Banking family of Jacob De Menasce (1807-1887), who began his
四 career in Cairo. He set up trading establishments in England, France and Turkey. In 1872, he was granted Austro-Hungarian
足 protection and given the title of Baron. His grandson, Baron Jacques De Menasce (1850-1916), favoured the cotton and sugar
爐 businesses and served as president of Alexandria’s Jewish Community.

青 • A similar example, in the Qing Court Collection, is illustrated by Zhang Guang Wen in The Complete Collection of Treasures
白 of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), no. 156, p. 190; another, together with a related spinach example, is illustrated by
玉 René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé in Chinese Jade in the Avery Brundage Collection, plate LV, pp. 124/5; two further related

examples are illustrated by Kao Yu-chen and Lin Shwu-shih in Jade: Ch’ing Dynasty Treasures, from the National Museum

乾 of History, Taiwan, nos. 86 & 87, pp. 152/3.

隆 • A spinach jade example was included by Marchant in their 80th anniversary exhibition, Chinese Jades from Han to Qing, no

George De Menasce 115, pp. 138/9, where Marchant note this type of censer was popular in the Qing courts. A complete set of three, with box

and cover and vase, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated by Li Jiufang in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji, ‘Chinese Jade’, Vol.

6, no. 89-90, p. 57; another, from the collection of Sir John Buchanan-Jardine, was included by William Llewllyn Lytton and

Laurence Binyon in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Art, London, 1935-6, no. 2830, pp. 243 &

255, and is now illustrated by Yang Boda in A Romance with Jade, from the De An Tang Collection, no. 117, p. 182; yet another,

in the Victoria & Albert Museum, is illustrated by Ming Wilson in Chinese Jades, no. 52, p. 52, collection no. 751-1903, where

男 the author notes, ‘In the imperial palace or other wealthy households, incense was burnt not only to perfume a room but also
爵 to repel insects. The vase in the form of four tubes (plate 52) probably also came from the imperial collection, since there is an
舊 identical one in the Palace Museum, Beijing. Originally the V&A vase would have had an accompanying incense box, a spatula,
藏 a pair of chopsticks and a holder for the last two items. The incense could be in stick or powder form. When the perfuming

was completed, the lid would be replaced.’ Another, sold by Marchant, 16th June 1988, is illustrated by Jonathan Woolf,

Angela McAteer & Colin Sheaf in The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, no. 21, p. 102.

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