Page 162 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Fine Chinese Art

Princesses Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) And Margaret, King George V, Princess Maud, 238 (invoice)
The King's Sister And Queen of Norway, Prince Henry Duke Of Gloucester, His wife Alice,
Duchess Of Gloucester, 1935

伊莉莎白公主（伊莉莎白二世）和瑪格麗特公主，喬治五世國王，模德公主（國王之妹和挪

威王妃），格洛斯特公爵亨利親王，格洛斯特公爵夫人愛麗斯王妃，1935年

238 The present lot is an exceptionally rare, combining the Imperial
A VERY RARE IMPERIAL RED JASPER VASE taste for archaism with the opulence of the red jasper stone, further
Mid-Qing Dynasty emphasised by the generous use of the material.
The lustrous stone of bright red tone vividly veined and mottled with
shades of aubergine, the baluster body rising from a short straight foot Red jasper is a fine-grained opaque form of chalcedony of a rich red
to a waisted neck, set with a pair of openwork dragon-head handles in colour that occasionally contains dark grey or black stripes of quartz.
high relief, the centre of the body crisply carved in shallow relief with a The material of the present lot is certainly among the best of its kind
taotie mask on both sides, all above a band of cicada blades, with its lustrous red tone and attractive aubergine veins. For a full
wood stand. discussion of this material used in the Qing Imperial palace, see Chen
16.6cm (6 1/2in) high (2). Xiasheng, Su gu hua jin tan gugong zhubao, Taipei, 2013, pp.111-112.

£30,000 - 50,000 The idea of archaism, displayed on the present lot in the crisp carving
CNY260,000 - 430,000 of the taotie masks and dragon-head handles, was particularly
favoured by the Qing court during the 18th century, and much
清中葉 御製紅碧石仿古獸紋雙耳尊 promoted by the Qianlong emperor. The emperor proposed to ‘restore
ancient ways’, referring to the view of ancient culture as having intrinsic
Provenance: qualities of sincerity, simplicity and happy exuberance. See Chang Li-
HRH the Duke of Gloucester KG (1900-1974) tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic
Christie’s London, Fine Chinese Porcelain, Carvings in Hardstones and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp.49-50. The
and Objects of Art, The Property of His Royal Highness The Duke of present jasper vase shares the related form and similar carving style
Gloucester, KG, 20 May 1954, lot 41 with some of the archaistic jade vessels of the Qianlong period, which
Acquired from Spink & Son Ltd., London, on 26 July 1956 originally drew their inspiration from ancient bronze vessels; see a
A distinguished European private collection, and thence by descent white jade vase decorated with taotie masks and cicada blades,
Qianlong, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace
Prince Henry of Gloucester, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, was Museum: Jade 10, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl.9, and another
the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as a malachite vase also with archaistic taotie masks the National Palace
soldier for most of his life, achieving the rank of Field Marshall in 1955 Museum, Taipei, illustrated in ibid., p.169. Compare also a red jasper
and Marshall of the Royal Air Force in 1958. He was also the 11th flower holder in the shape of a peach tree, 18th/19th century, in the
Governor-General of Australia from 1944 to 1947. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.24.80.143).

來源：

格洛斯特公爵亨利親王（1900-1974）舊藏
1954年5月20日於倫敦佳士得《Fine Chinese Porcelain, Carvings in
Hardstones and Objects of Art, The Property of His Royal Highness
The Duke of Gloucester, KG》拍賣，拍品41號
1956年7月26日購自倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.
顯赫歐洲私人收藏，並由其家族繼承

156 | BONHAMS 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.