Lot 35. A large spinach-green jade oval 'dragon' washer, 18th-19th century; 23.2cm (9 1/8in) wide. Sold for HKD 481,800 (Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 350,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

The washer of oval section rises from a flat base to an inverted rim, the exterior carved in high relief with five five-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst dense clouds above rocks and crashing waves rising from the whorl-carved base, the semi-translucent stone of mottled spinach-green tone with some black inclusions.

Provenance: Edward I. Farmer, New York.

Note: The present washer is notable for its craftmanship in utilizing the natural shape of the original boulder, which would have been of considerable size. The rich visual texture, created by the carving of dragons writhing and partially emerging out of dense clouds, is particularly impressive. The earliest example of the swirling wave that forms the flat base of jade vessels is first seen on a massive black jade wine basin from the Yuan dynasty, measuring 493cm across the body known as the Dushan dayuhai, the 'Du Mountain Wine Sea', believed to have been commissioned by Kublai Khan (1215-1294) in 1265.

The same combination of deeply carved dragons and cloud motif above the swirled wave base continued into the Ming and Qing dynasties, and was once again in vogue during the Qianlong period, using both white and spinach-green jades: see a spinach-green example with the size comparable to the Dushan dayuhai illustrated by Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji, Shijiazhuang, 2005, p.604, pl.252; see also a closely related larger Qianlong period spinach-green jade washer in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc.no.:02.18.689, illustrated by H.R. Bishop, The Heber R. Bishop Collection of Jade and other Hard Stones, New York, 1909, p.74, pl.10.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, Hong Kong, 30 November 2022