Lot 3722. A rare white jade handled cup, Fanggu mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 13.6 cm., 5 1/8  in. Estimate 600,000 — 800,000 HKD. Lot Sold 1,240,000 HKD (126,461 EUR). Photo Sotheby’s

delicately carved with deep rounded sides rising from a slightly splayed foot to an everted rim, the sides flanked by a pair of openwork handles detailed with various lingzhi blooms, the exterior decorated with a continuous scene depicting four deer in a setting laden with verdant vegetation and rockwork, one side carved with a deer grasping a lingzhi stem in its mouth whilst looking at its young, the reverse similarly decorated with two further deer, all below a key-fret border encircling the rim, the base with a six-character fanggu reign mark, the stone of a pale greenish-white colour with faint russet inclusions, wood stand.

Provenance: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 22nd May 1984, lot 219

Note: This cup belongs to a small group of imperial vessels made during Qianlong’s reign which bear either a four- or six-character mark designating them as having been inspired by ancient vessels. Such pieces are characterised by their exceptional craftsmanship and quality of the material. The present piece bears the six-character Qianlong fanggu mark ('Exemplifying Antiquity During the Qianlong Reign') and appears to have been inspired by a Song prototype which would have formed part of the Palace’s vast collection; see a Song two-handled octagonal cup, similarly carved with deer, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Chinese Art. Jade, vol. 9, Beijing, 1991, pl. 260.