A superb impérial white jade censer and cover. Qianlong/Jiajing period (1736-1820)
The globular censer raised on three legs with upturned feet, the sides finely carved with stylized taotie masks divided by rows of ingot-shaped raised flanges, repeated on the domed cover, the pierced handles entwined by angular scrolls, the finial formed as a coiled dragon, the stone of even white tone.
6 3/16 in. (15.7 cm) high, box - Estimate: $400,000 - $600,000
Provenance : Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 19 November 1986, lot 366.
Notes : A Qianlong period white jade archaistic covered tripod censer of similar form, also carved with a coiled dragon finial and with S-shaped handles, in the Pine and Bamboo Hall Collection, is illustrated by H.K.F. Hui and T.Y Pang in Virtuous Treasures: Chinese Jades for the Scholar's Table, The Univeristy of Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 58-9, no. 11.
Christie's. Masterpieces of Chinese Art. 17 September 2008. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. www.christies.com
