Lot 3312. A Rare Yellow Jade ‘Purse’ Pomander, Mid Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). H 5.3cm. Sold for HKD 228,000 (Estimate HKD 80,000 - 120,000). © Poly Auction Hong Kong Limited 2022 

 Provenance: 1. Collection of Mr. Gérard Wahl-Boyer, Paris, France, 1994
2. Collection of the Duchamp family, Paris, France.

Note: This lot is in the form of an embroidered incense bag with a lotus-shaped belly, the lid and body carved in yellow nephrite, the entire body decorated with parallel lines. The yellow nephrite is delicate and lustrous, soft as grease, with a fine inner light, and the colour of this piece is well formed and natural. There are only two examples of similar form to this example, a chased jade double dragon playing with pearls and cashew nuts incense bag in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and an example in the collection of Roger Keverne and S. Marchant & Son Ltd.

Prior to the large-scale mining of Hetian jade in Xinjiang, yellow jade was of the highest status, and in the Ming dynasty Gao Lian's Memoirs of the Qing Appreciation of Yanliu, it is stated that 'jade of sweet yellow is superior to mutton fat'. This piece is of pure, thick and rich jade, and the material alone is rare. According to the records of the Qing dynasty palace workshops, the jade purses and incense pouches were often used by members of the imperial family for their successes or for their meritorious subjects.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Poly Auction Hong Kong. The Duchange Family Collection of Important Chinese Art II, Hong Kong, 2 December 2021