Page 27 - 2018 Hong Kong Important Chieese Art

ACCUMULATED BLESSINGS

A KHOTAN WHITE JADE BOWL AND COVER

HAJNI ELIAS

In 1766, the Qianlong Emperor composed a poem titled ‘Ode to The present exquisite bowl and cover, made from the highest
the Khotan White Jade Bowl (Yong Hetian baiyu wan), in which quality Khotan white jade with a warm and fine texture belongs
he quotes the Liji [Book of Rites] as follows, ‘Flaws do not to this special group of jade wares. The bowl, skilfully carved
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obscure its beauty, nor does beauty obscure its flaws.’ In his with rounded sides and applied with four openwork butterfly
poem, the emperor uses this classic reference to express his loop handles with rings, and the domed cover surmounted by
deep admiration for a white jade bowl from Khotan, suggesting a three-tier globular finial, is special for the simplicity of its
that even if the material includes small blemishes, it does not decoration which allows a deeper appreciation of form and
detract from the vessel’s overall magnificence and beauty. material, and an emphasis on the superb workmanship and
His appreciation for Khotan jades is further documented in finish of the polished stone. The high quality of the carving
over seventy poems and essays, all of which represent his is also visible in the handles, with the ornately decorated
assessment and veneration for the jade and for the artistry butterflies in openwork and the suspending loose rings on
that went into their carving. He favoured works that were the handles. The butterfly in Chinese art is amongst the most
refined, elegant and full of vitality, and especially cherished the auspicious motives for its symbolism of blessings, happiness
lustrous white jade which he praised for its smooth touch. In and longevity. The story of Zhuangzi who dreamed that
1756, when he received his first Khotan jade carving in the form he was a butterfly enjoying a carefree life, flying about and
of a flower-shaped basin, he wrote a poem commemorating sipping delicious nectar from flowers, comes to mind and is
the beauty of the vessel and hailed all jades arriving from a felicitous reminder of a joyful and content existence. The
Khotan as pieces of ‘heavenly craft (xiangong). 2 Chinese for butterfly hudie also serves as a pun, as the first
character hu may be pronounced fu or fu meaning ‘blessings’
Khotan jade became available to the court after the Qing
or ‘riches’; and the second character die represents a pun
military forces conquered the eastern edge of Central Asia
for the verb ‘accumulate (die)’, forming an overall meaning
in 1759, defeating the Dzungar Khanate and incorporating
of an ‘accumulation of blessings’. The fact that there are
its territory into the empire under the name of Xinjiang,
four butterflies suggests that there was an intension to form
meaning ‘new borders’. From the following year, exquisitely
a ‘group of butterflies’ to represent multiple good fortune.
carved jades from the Mughal Empire (1526-1857) and large
Another important meaning of the butterfly is its reference to
amount of high-quality raw jade from the Khotan and Yarkent
one turning 70 or 80 of age (die). As mentioned above, white
regions became available and were sent as tribute items to the
jade wares are documented in the imperial archives during
Imperial court in Beijing. A bi-annual tribute system formally
the years between 1760-1795, the very period during which
established between the Qing government and the four sub-
Qianlong would have celebrated his 70th and 80th birthdays,
Khanates of Xinjiang secured the Imperial Workshop a supply
the former in 1781 and the latter in 1791. So we can speculate
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of 4,000 jin of raw jade from mid to late 18th century. It is
whether this jade bowl might have been made for him on the
estimated that at the height of this tributary period 300,000
occasion of his birthday.
jin of raw jade was transported to the Palace. 4
No two jade carvings are ever the same, unless they were
The Qing gong neiwufu dang’an [Records of the Qing Court
made as a pair (which are often simple bowls or small utility
Imperial Household Department] document a number of
items), thus the present bowl and cover remains a unique
white jade wares, including a pair of white jade covered
item with no closely comparable example known to date.
bowls, submitted as tribute items to the Qianlong Emperor
However, in the quality of the jade and the execution of
by the Lianghui Salt Government official Su Lengcha in 1795.
the stepped globular lobed knop on its cover, this vessel is
Furthermore, the imperial records show that in the 59th
possibly by the same hand that produced the white jade and
year of Qianlong’s reign (1794), a white jade covered bowl
cloisonné enamel ram-head teapot and cover sold in these
was produced by jade carvers in the Ruyiguan, one of the
rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3613 (figs 1 and 2). The shape
art studios established under Qianlong’s edict to provide
of the stepped lobed knop is also reminiscent of that seen
space for painters, jade-carvers, mount-makes and other
on the cover of a green jade incense burner, in the Palace
artisans selected from the East and West of the empire by
Museum, Beijing and illustrated in Compendium of Collections
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the Imperial Household Department. The Imperial Household
in the Palace Museum. Jade, vol. 10, Beijing, 2011, pl. 96. The
Department’s records further reveal that a large number
current bowl and cover was in the collection of Millicent Rogers
of wares carved in white jade were made in the Ruyiguan
(1902-1953), a philanthropist, socialite, style icon and avid
between 1760-1795. White jade covered bowls were also
art collector, whose grandfather, Henry Huttleston Rogers,
gifted as tributary items to the emperor throughout his reign
was one of the founders of the Standard Oil Company. At her
from various regional officials from this border territory of the
homes in New York, Virginia, California, Austria, Jamaica, Italy
empire.
IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 25