Lot  42. A pale celadon jade vajra and a pale celadon jade ghanta, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Hauteur : 12 cm et 16,8 cm. Price realised EUR 100,800 (Estimate EUR 35,000 – EUR 45,000). © Christie's 2023

Le vajra porte une marque Qianlong incisée à quatre caractères. La cloche finement sculptée de motifs imitant des vajra et ornements ouvragés est ornée d'une frise de pétales de fleur de lotus stylisés abritant des caractères de sanskrit.

Property from a French private collection.

Provenance: Acquired by the grandmother of the present owner in Vietnam in the 1930s, thence by descent in the family.

Note: The ritual bell or ghanta, is described in teachings as 'proclaiming the sound of emptiness' and represents the female aspect of wisdom and truth in voidness of form and emptiness. The ghanta together with the vajra, were important Buddhist ritual implements which were held in the right and left hands respectively to make elaborate ritual movements and they are also attributes of Buddhist deities. Both are usually made of bronze where jade examples are far rarer. An example of a similar jade ritual bell but of a smaller size is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 42 - Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 134-35, no. 113, also dated to the Qianlong period. Compare with a very close bell sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2019, lot 3033.