Lot 50. A rare yellow and brown archaistic jade bowl, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 11.2cm (4 3/8in) diam. Estimate HK$400,000-600,000. Sold for HK$ 687,500 (€ 82,145). Photo Bonhams.

Well-hollowed with rounded sides flaring from a gently splayed foot to an everted rim, the exterior carved with a continuous band of raised bosses and incised lines forming 'S'-shaped patterns, between two raised bands alternatively of twisted ropes and 'C'-scroll border above the foot, the semi-translucent stone of yellowish-green tone with dark brown inclusions. 

Provenance : Sotheby's Hong Kong, Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection, Scholarly Art II, 4 April 2012, lot 140.

Note: It is recorded in the Imperial archives that the Qianlong Emperor set the strictest standards for his jades and that he often drew inspiration from the tradition of his forefathers in developing his own taste and styles. It is also stated that the Emperor was personally involved in overseeing the process of jade production, whereby he frequently questioned officials in charge of the jade atelier regarding their selection of craftsmen and personally inspected the quality of their work.

It is very rare to find a jade bowl of this elegant form and design, and it appears that no other examples have been published. The exceptional workmanship allows light to shine through its semi-translucent body to enhance the richness of the yellow stone. The continuous band of raised bosses and the incised 'S'-shaped lines may have drawn inspiration from jade vessels from the Western Han period. Qing dynasty jade carvers successfully adapted classical forms and reinterpreted them in new ways, all under the watchful eye of the Emperor.

Compare the decoration of a jade cup, zhi, excavated at Shizishan in 1994-5, now in the Xuzhou Museum; and a jade stem cup excavated at Xianggangshan in 1983, now in the Museum of the King of Nanyue in Guangdong Province, both from the Western Han period, illustrated by J.C.S. Lin, The Search For Immortality: Tomb Treasures of Han China, Cambridge, 2012, pl.58 and 164.

Bonham's. The Sze Yuan Tang Collection of Chinese Jades, Hong Kong, Admiralty, 5 April 2016