Lot 3953. A fine imperial white jade bowl, Jiaqing incised four-character mark and of the period (1796-1820); 5 7/8 in. (14.7 cm.) diam. Estimate 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 1,160,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012.  

The bowl is carved with rounded sides rising to an everted rim, supported on a short slightly splayed foot. The well-polished translucent stone is of an even white tone with very minor inclusions, stand.

Provenance: William Clayton Ltd, London, 1968.

Note: Compare with a few Jiaqing-marked examples, including an almost identical example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, lot 1958; another bowl incised with Jiaqing Yushang, 'Appreciated by the Jiaqing Emperor', is in the collection of the Capital Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Jade, Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series, Beijing, 2002, p. 202, pls. 239-240. A pair of bowls with reign marks are in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung, illustrated by J. Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum Press, London, 1995, p. 400, pl. 29:13, and also included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1983, Catalogue, p. 252, pl. 226.

Christie's. The Imperial Sale, Hong Kong, 30 May 2012