Page 189 - CHRISTIE'S Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 09/14 - 15 / 17
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PROPERTY FROM AN AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTION Taber made his mark as an oil executive and ultimately as a board member
with the Gulf Oil Company. A self-taught engineer, he was instrumental
~1024 in developing important advances in the oil-refning technique. Believed
A RARE THREE-PIECE GREEN JADE INCENSE GARNITURE to have been infuenced by a relative who had brought back tales and
beautiful objects from his travels in China, George Hathaway Taber, Jr. built
18TH CENTURY up an extraordinary collection, which was loaned or gifted to a number of
The garniture is comprised of a covered censer, a tool vase and an incense museums, including the Philbrook Museum, to form the core of the Chinese
box and cover, all with lobed corners. The censer is carved with a band of collection. Upon his death in 1940, the collection was split up between his
intertwined archaistic serpents above a band of shou characters fanked by descendants, and part of it was sold at the Park Bernet Galleries, New York,
archaistic motifs, and has a pair of animal-mask and loose ring handles on 7-8 March 1946.
the narrow sides. The cover is carved in high relief at each corner with a coiled
chilong and is surmounted by a coiled, openwork dragon fnial. The tool vase is Compare with incense garnitures produced in a variety of materials in the
carved in low relief with intertwined archaistic dragons, and the slightly domed National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Special Exhibition of Incense
cover of the box is carved with a formal foral motif within a border of conjoined Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties, 1994, and illustrated in the
C-scrolls. The semi-translucent stone is of mottled green color and rich tone. Catalogue, nos. 82 and 89 (porcelain imitating early bronzes), nos. 84 and 85
The censer 5æ in. (14.7 cm.) wide, hongmu stands (white jade), no. 86 (champlevé enamel), no. 87 (molded celadon porcelain),
and no. 88 (enamel on metal).
$40,000-60,000
The ritual of incense burning served not only a spiritual element, but it
PROVENANCE facilitated other more practical purposes, such as the fumigation of clothes.
Each of these vessels was used for a specifc purpose: the box and cover
George H. Taber (1859-1940) Collection, and thence by descent within for storage of incense, either in strip, coil or pellet form, whilst the tool vase
the family. accommodated implements such as chopsticks and a spatula to rake or
smooth the bed of ashes placed in the censer.
George Hathaway Taber Jr. (1859-1940) was a prolifc collector of Chinese
ceramics and jades with a discerning eye. He was the son of Capt. George 清十八世紀 碧玉爐瓶盒三事
H. Taber (1808-1901), who rose from a humble background to become a
prominent member of the community and held a number of important oficial
positions including serving as President of Fairhaven Bank. The younger
Please note that the use of the symbol ~ for this particular lot is in 181
reference only to the accompanying wood stand [or box/other as
applicable] for the lot. Please contact the sale coordinator if you
have any questions.
