Page 306 - Christie's Asia Week March 2024 Chinese Art

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART INCLUDING THE COLLECTION OF DOROTHY TAPPER GOLDMAN

THE FAGAN JADES

An Extraordinary Group of Massive Green Jade Vessels

(Lots 1194–1196)

he following group of massive green jade vessels, along with the first-rank prince of the Qianlong period, claimed that “[n]o stone […]
imperial Yongzheng-period jade tablet book, lot 1197, and lots would be better for crafting the chimes [for the Confucian ritual of the
T1198-1200, from the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, were winter solstice] than the beautiful nephrite jade mined from the newly
bequeathed to the Museums by the American sugar heiress Helene pacified territory of Xinjiang.” (See Yulian Wu, “Chimes of Empire: The
Irwin Fagan (1887-1966). The group comprises a pair of double-gourd Construction of Jade Instruments and Territory in Eighteenth-Century
ewers and covers, a pair of ladles, and a basin. Each vessel bears the China,” Late Imperial China, Vol. 40, No. 1, June 2019, 43). Thus, for
reign mark of the Qianlong Emperor and exhibits an opulent luxurious the Qianlong Emperor, jade was associated with both Confucian ritual
use of precious green jade. culture and the successes of ruling power.
Spinach-green jade plays an important role in the history of the A plethora of Imperial spinach-green jade objects, all likely crafted
Qianlong Emperor’s (r. 1736-1795) court. In 1759, Qianlong expanded his out of the jade from the newly-discovered 1762 quarry, emerged
empire to include the northwest province of Xinjiang and ordered his soon after this time. Most notably, a large group of dated Qianlong-
bannermen to look for sources of jade in this newly-conquered province. period spinach-green jade chimes that includes an example, dated by
Before this time, jade was considered a foreign tribute rather than a inscription to 1764, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26 November 2014,
local product, but now that jade could be sourced from a province within lot 2941. (Fig. 1) Other spinach-jade chimes with the same 1764 date
the empire, this connotation would change going forward. In 1762, the include one exhibited in China Institute in America, Chinese Jade
bannermen found 1,514 jin (a unit of weight) of jade stone, much of through the Centuries, New York, 1968, no. 66; one from the Baron
which was of a distinctive ‘green jade’ color, and sent it to Suzhou to Antoine Allard Collection, sold at Sotheby's Paris, 10 June 2014, lot
rd
be carved into Imperial articles. On August 3 , 1761, Prince Zhuang, a 80; and another example sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8-9 November

Fig. 1 Spinach-green jade chime, Qianlong period, dated by inscription to 1764, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 2941.
圖ˏ 清̖隆，碧玉描金龍紋Ǚ南呂ǚ編磬，描金Ǘ̖隆̣十̏年製ǘ款， 年，ωૈ得香港， 年 月 日，拍品編號
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