Page 155 - Bonhams Asian Art London November 5, 2020

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A VERY FINE WHITE JADE INCENSE-TOOL VASE
Qianlong
Deftly carved rising from a short splayed foot to an ovoid body
surmounted by a long tapering, cylindrical neck with galleried rim, the
body exquisitely carved in low relief around the exterior with archaistic
designs of confronted stylised chilong, the stone of even pale white
tone, wood stand.
11.2cm (4 1/2in) high (2).
£6,000 - 8,000
CNY53,000 - 70,000
清乾隆 白玉雕仿古螭龍紋香插
Provenance: a Swiss private collection
來源：瑞士私人收藏
Incense-tool vases would be used to contain implements such as
metal chopsticks and spatula which would have been used to prepare
incense on sand contained in an incense burner. In contrast to much
Chinese jade carving in the 18th century, which was characterised by
decorative high-relief carving, the Qianlong emperor commissioned a
large number of jades which were inspired by the forms and designs of
antiquity. Jade carvers were encouraged to move away from the ‘new
style’ by studying archaic bronze vessels in the Qing Court Collection
or in illustrated woodblock prints, and adapting them to the medium
of jade. Inspired in its decoration by archaic bronzes, the present lot
epitomises this trend. See for example, a related white jade incense
tool vase with archaistic taotie pattern, but with a pair of handles, Qing
dynasty, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace
Museum: Jade, 10, Beijing, 2011, p.149. Compare with a slightly
larger (14.5cm high) white jade archaistic bottle vase, Qianlong, which
was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2010, lot 1882.
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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. FINE CHINESE ART | 153