Page 148 - Christies September 13 to 14th Fine Chinese Works of Art New York

THE PROPERTY OF MARCHANT, EST. 1925

1180
A FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE RECTANGULAR POMANDER
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
Each half is carved with a female immortal standing beneath a pine tree
against a background of openwork diaper pattern. One immortal holds
a scroll while the attendant behind her holds a fan, and the other immortal
holds a peach beside a phoenix with long tail feathers. The two halves ft
together with a hinge at the bottom and a pierced, curved tab at the top.
The translucent stone is of pale greenish-white color.
2¬ in. (6.1 cm.) high, silk tassel

$10,000-15,000

PROVENANCE
John Sparks, London, September 1990.
Private collection, England.
Openwork small containers of this type were popular accessories at the Qing
Court, and would have been used for difusing perfume or fragrance from
fowers and herbs. Examples can be found in various luxury materials, such the
gold fligree examples illustrated in Collected by The Palace Museum: Jewelry
and Accessories of the Royal Consorts of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1992,
pp. 135-138, nos. 311-21. The delicate openwork of these containers would
have been easier to craft from gold than to carve from jade, perhaps making
jade examples more precious. Two green jade pouches are illustrated ibid.,
p. 134, nos. 309 and 310.
清乾隆 白玉鏤雕仙人圖香囊

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