Page 150 - Christie's Fine Chiense Works of Art November 2018 London

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A RARE IMPERIAL ROCK CRYSTAL ‘RAM’ WASHER It is interesting to see the four-character wheel-cut mark to the base of
JIAQING YU WAN WHEEL-CUT FOUR-CHARACTER SEAL MARK AND the current vessel, which is commonly associated with pieces made in the
OF THE PERIOD (1796-1820) Imperial Palace Workshop for the Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors’ courts.
The washer is carved in the form of a ram, with archaistic patterns to the These types of mark appear less frequently on rock crystal carvings than
body and incisions highlighting the swirling details on the beard and tail. The those made from jade, indicating the high importance and superior quality
imperial reign mark is carved to the base, and the clear translucent stone of the current example. For a detailed discussion of imperial marks see Hugh
appears to be fawless. Moss and Gerard Tsang, Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, p.
5º in. (13.5 cm.) long
156.
£80,000-120,000 $110,000-160,000
€90,000-130,000 Rock crystal is mentioned as an important material in historical Chinese
texts dating to as early as the Tang dynasty (618-907), where it is described
PROVENANCE as a material made from water turned to stone (refected in the Chinese term
Nagel Auctions Stuttgart, 4 November 2011, lot 27
Shuijing or ‘water crystal’), with suggestions of its import from Persia. Rock
crystal objects typically appeared in the scholar’s studio and by the 18th
It is rare to fnd rock crystal carvings modelled in the form of archaic bronzes
which depict mythical animals. A rock crystal vessel in the form of an archaic century, this pure stone was used to make carvings of exceptional quality for
bronze guang, carved with chilong and dated to the Mid-Qing dynasty is in imperial consumption.
the collection of the Tianjin Museum of Art, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi
Compare the present lot to rock crystal carvings from the Qing court
Quanji - 6 - Qing, Hebei, 1991, p. 27, no. 44.
collection, illustrated in The Complete Treasures of the Palace Museum -
Small Refned Articles of the Study, Shanghai, 2009, no. 92, a mountain-form
brush rest; no. 266, two mountain-peaked seals; and no. 281, a square seal
paste box.
清嘉慶 御製水晶臥羊式洗 「嘉慶御玩」篆書刻款

來源：德國斯圖加特納高2011年11月4日拍賣，拍品27號
(mark)

(another view)