Page 161 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Fine Chinese Art

237 Inspired by the shape and decoration of archaic bronze gui food
A FINE ARCHAISTIC SPINACH-GREEN JADE INCENSE vessels of the Zhou dynasty, the present vessel is a fine example of the
BURNER AND COVER, GUI stylistic developments during the 18th century inspired by the wishes
Qianlong of the Qianlong emperor. Aiming to ‘restore the ancient ways’, the
Superbly carved supported on a short recessed foot, the compressed emperor wished to reinstate the intrinsic qualities of simplicity, sincerity
globular body carved on each side with a relief taotie mask reserved and happy exuberance of the ancient cultures. For this purpose, the
on a dense and intricately incised leiwen ground, rising to an elegantly emperor instructed the court to collect drawings of antiquities, such as
waisted rim flanked by a pair of lion-mask handles holding loose rings, the ‘Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities’ (Xi Qing Gu Jian 西清古鑑), which
the domed cover with gently rounded sides similarly decorated with served as sources of designs for the production of contemporary
taotie masks, surmounted by a large circular finial reticulated with a vessels. See Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special
wrathful coiled dragon amidst scrolling foliage, grasping a stem of Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei,
lingzhi fungus with its four claws, wood stand. 21cm (8 1/4in) wide (3). 1997, pp.49-50.

£18,000 - 24,000 Compare a related spinach-green jade tripod incense burner and
CNY160,000 - 210,000 cover, Qianlong, said to have come from the Summer Palace, Beijing,
illustrated by S.C.Nott, Chinese Jade throughout the Ages, Rutland,
清乾隆 碧玉仿古饕餮紋蓋爐 1971, pl.CXVIII; see also a related spinach-green jade incense burner
and cover, Qianlong, illustrated by R.Keverne, ed., Jade, London,
Provenance: Caldicott collection 1992, p.163, fig.89.
A European private collection, acquired from Spink & Son Ltd.,
London, on 17 May 1960, and thence by descent A related spinach-green jade censer and cover, Qianlong, was sold at
Sotheby’s London, 9 November 2016, lot 4.
來源：
Caldicott舊藏
歐洲私人收藏，1960年5月17日購自倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.；並
由後人保存迄今

The graceful modelling of the subjects and painstaking attention to
detail, visible in the interlaced straw of the farmer’s hat, the gentle folds
of his garments and the jagged crevices of the pitted rocks, imbue this
outstanding jade group with impressive naturalism.

The present lot represents the farmer, one of the Four Noble
Occupations comprising the Chinese hierarchical social structure
(alongside scholar, woodcutter and fisherman). The water buffalo,
superbly carved with a rope tethered through its nostrils, was crucial to
all wet-rice cultivation societies and to a farmer’s success; as such, it
formed a vital part of Chinese agricultural and economic life.

Even the emperor took a keen personal interest in farming. Once every
year on the 15th day of the first moon he would ceremonially plough
several furrows with oxen over a field to ensure that Heaven would
grant a bountiful harvest. In 1696, the Kangxi emperor commissioned
the court painter Jiao Bingzhen to make the ‘Illustrations of Agriculture
and Sericulture’ (Yuzhi gengzhi tu 御製耕織圖) to better understand
the process of farming and weaving. Later, the Yongzheng emperor
commissioned another version of the same album, depicting himself
as the farmer with buffalo ploughing the fields. This album, now in the
Palace Museum in Beijing, is discussed and illustrated by E.Rawski
and J.Rawson, in China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795, London,
2005, p.242.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.