Sotheby's Paris Asian Arts sale will include several major pieces of porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Prominent amongst them is an exceptional archaistic "tea dust" vase of the Qianlong reign (1736-1795) Lot 92 - Est. 800,000-1,200,000 EUR. Its stylized dragon decoration belongs to a special group of porcelain that took their inspiration from archaic ritual bronzes. It also well exemplifies the Emperor Qianlong's taste for the antique towards the middle of his reign.

Vase en porcelaine poudre de thé rehaussé d'or, hu . Chine, Dynastie Qing, Marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Photo Sotheby's

An imitating-bronze tea-dust porcelain vase, China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795)

la panse à décor compartimenté de panneaux agrémentés de dragons kui archaïsants moulés en relief sur fond de grecques émaillé lavande et pourpre, le col évasé décoré à l'or et flanqué d'anses ajourées en forme de phénix stylisés, la base du col rythmée de sept cercles en relief, le pied souligné d'une frise de ruyi à l'or, marque à six caractères gravée et dorée à la base; 49 cm, 19 3/8 in.

PROVENANCE: Collection Vicomte de Noailles. Thence by family descent.

NOTE: Archaistic Magnificence: Emperor Qianlong's Trompe-l'Oeil Bronze Simulation Hu Vase. By Hajni Elias

The present impressive large hu-form vase with its stylized dragon decoration belongs to a special group of porcelain vessels that took their inspiration from archaic ritual bronzes. It is one of the most impressive porcelains within a group of such vessels that simulate metal originals. The Qianlong emperor was a keen collector of ceramics, both contemporary and antiques. It is known that he greatly favoured copies or replicas, and enjoyed objects that were simulations of other materials. During his reign the refinement of materials and craftsmanship and the expansion of the range of glaze and enamel colours allowed potters to become highly ambitious in their repertoire. They were encouraged in this by the emperor who appears to have had a special liking for showy pieces. Simulations were produced that were difficult to separate from the 'real'. Zhu Yan in Tao shuo, published in 1774, noted that 'in fact, among all the works of art in carved gold, embossed silver, chiselled stone, lacquer, mother-of-pearl, bamboo and wood, gourd and shell, there is not one that is not now produced in porcelain, a perfect imitation of the original (fang xiao er xiao). (See Stephen W. Bushell, Description of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain: Being a Translation of the Tao Shuo, Oxford, 1977, p. 6).

Among the many simulations created by the imperial workshops for the Qianlong Emperor, those imitating archaic ritual bronzes appear to have been especially popular. Archaic bronze vessels, particularly of the late Shang (c.1600-c. 1050 BC) and Western Zhou (c.1050-771 BC) period, collected by Qianlong inspired precise copies as well as 'modern' interpretations, like the present vase. Soame Jenyns in Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, p. 60, mentions that a stone tablet was excavated at the Imperial kiln site at Jingdezhen in 1915, titled 'Orders and Memoranda on Porcelain' in which Tang Ying, Superintendent in charge of the Imperial porcelain manufacture, discusses his efforts to 'counterfeit' bronze vessels.

Bronzes were simulated through a variety of glazes, typically a brown of 'café-au-lait' or 'teadust' colour heightened with gold, and this was often combined with a mottled turquoise or green glaze, as well as the glaze known as 'Robin's Egg' to evoke the blue-green patina of ancient metalwork. While a number of related pieces are known from the Qing Court collection, no simulated bronze vase of this form and decoration appears to be recorded.

The design mixes archaic motifs with Qing dynasty elements. Whereas the confronted dragons are derived from bronze designs, the gilded ruyi band around the foot and the stylized dragon handles on the neck are stylistically firmly rooted in the Qing tradition.

For examples of vessels belonging to this group see a large ovoid vase, from the J.T. Tai collection, sold in these rooms, 7th October 2010, lot 2128 ; and another massive vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, echoing an archaic bronze zun with only a narrow band of this robin's egg glaze reserved on an overall teadust surface, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, 1989, p. 412, pl. 93, together with a gu and a bell simulating bronzes, pp 414f, pls. 95 and 96. A hu-form vase in the Musée Guimet, Paris, (inventory no. G1567) is another fine example of vessels of this type; as well as a miniature version of the same form but with handles and decorated with a band executed in a similar colour scheme with coffee-coloured dragon motif raised on a mottled turquoise glaze, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat. no. 138, and sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th November 1989, lot 340. A tripod censer of Qianlong reign mark and of the period, probably lacking any turquoise glaze but decorated with very similar stylized dragons, is published in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 282, fig. 486. See also a porcelain gu from the Shanghai Museum, apparently unmarked, exhibited together with a Shang dynasty bronze gu of the type it copies in the exhibition Treasures from Shanghai. Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, The British Museum, London, 2009, cat. nos. 56 a and b.

Large hu form vases of this type were also decorated in blue-and-white; for example, see one painted in bright shades of cobalt blue with a continuous flower scroll design, the neck flanked by a pair of handles, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 16th May 1977, lot 90, now in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, included in the museum's exhibition The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 63; and another with two stylized dragon handles and the body painted with branches of peach, lychee, finger-citron and pomegranate branches, with a Qianlong reign mark on the base, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25th April 2004, lot 299..

The sale also features an important Qianlong mark and period blue and white porcelain moonflask decorated with peaches and bats amongst scrolling lotus, Lot 50- Est. 500,000-700,000 EUR.

Gourde en porcelaine bleu blanc. Chine, Dynastie Qing, Marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Photo Sotheby's

A blue and white porcelain moonflask, China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795)

la panse circulaire reposant sur un haut pied évasé, le col cylindrique aux bords légèrement ourlés flanqué d'anses ajourées en têtes d'animaux fabuleux, très délicatement peinte au centre d'une chauve-souris tourbillonnant parmi des pêches de longévité dans leur feuillage, ce médaillon central entouré de fleurs de lotus dans des rinceaux, le col souligné d'une frise de ruyi et le pied de lingzhi et frise de pétales stylisés; 49,5 cm, 19 1/2 in. 

PROVENANCE: Acquired by the grand-parents of the present owner in Paris in the 1920's.

NOTE: The Qianlong emperor's connoisseurship of arts is well documented and his vast collection, especially of ceramics, contained true masterpieces. For its magnificent size and beautifully painted decoration the present moonflask would have been amongst his prized possessions. It represents one of the most challenging and advanced pieces made during his reign. The production of exquisitely decorated large and undistorted vessels required considerable expertise from the potter, who in this case borrowed extensively from archaistic forms and decorative motifs while creating a piece that was contemporary. Reference to ancient forms and archaistic designs was much appreciated by the emperor who embraced art not only for its connection with a reference to a glorious past. Qianlong's personal taste, which tended towards extravagant and showy objects, greatly influenced the making of technically challenging and artistically complex display pieces. The production of large vessels, which have considerable weight, required the highest level of technical skill only to be found amongst potters working in the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, under the instructions of China's most famous Superintendent, Tang Ying. Imperial records confirm that Qianlong habitually asked Tang Ying to design special pieces for him and his discernment of Tang's ability as well as his sponsorship of him in key posts in the artistic hierarchy of porcelain manufacture allowed such fine wares to come into being.

The decoration on this flask is meticulously executed and painted in the finest cobalt-blue. The design arrangement is perfectly balanced with just the appropriate amount of space left between the scrolling leafy stems, the flower-heads and the medallion design to make the decoration appear rich yet not overcrowded. The bulging oval section creates an almost trompe-l'oeil effect of rendering the flower heads three-dimensional. Both the shape of the vessel and the decoration take their inspiration from early 15th century blue and white porcelain.

The shape of this flask is an adaptation of much earlier pilgrim bottles of the Tang dynasty made of leather. During the Tang period, pilgrim bottles, which themselves borrowed the form from archaic bronzes, became the inspiration for ceramic replicas which were used to contain wine. However, Qing blue-and-white moonflasks were largely derived from the early Ming prototypes. This moonflask appears to be after the well-known Xuande period vessel painted with composite flower scroll motif, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci, Beijing, 2002, pl. 86. See another Xuande flask of much smaller dimensions, but the neck similarly flanked by two handles, illustrated ibid., pl. 87. According to Regina Krahl, flasks of such ample dimensions may have been specifically designed as weighty diplomatic gifts rather than practical household implements. To foreign nations they perfectly symbolized the power and technical advancement competence of the Ming empire. (See Regina Krahl, 'A symbol of the Yongle court', The Meiyintang Collection. Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 2011, p. 172.)

Perhaps the Qing dynasty version was made with a similar intention in mind.Only one other closely comparable example of this elegant form painted with the same design is known, possibly the pair to the present piece: a flask offered in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th November 1997, lot 1463.

The decoration on this vessel is unusual for Qing period moonflasks and more common are vessels belonging to this special group painted with a large five-clawed dragon rendered with a ferocious expression, such as the one sold in our London rooms, 7th November 2007, lot 407, of similar size and brilliant deep blue glaze as seen on this piece. Another smaller flask, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, with the dragon motif is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, 132; one was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 13th November 1987, lot 529; and a third example, from the Wang Xing Lou collection, is included in Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 20. A blue-and-white moonflask of this form and size, in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo, and published in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, pl. 152, can be seen painted with a dragon depicted facing sideways; while a further, slightly smaller, example with the 'dragon and phoenix' design in a circular panel was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 510.

Compare also a larger blue-and-white flask (height 54.3 cm) of this elegant form, with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, decorated all over with a pattern of leafy flower scroll and with two dragon handles, sold at Christie's New York, 19th March 2008, lot 606. A Qianlong flask of more compressed globular form but decorated in rich cobalt-blue tones with a central dragon medallion encircled by a leafy composite floral scroll was sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2007, lot 105.

Moonflasks of this type and impressive large size were also decorated in the doucai colour scheme, where the design is outlined in underglaze-blue and overglaze enamel washes; for example see one sold in our New York rooms, 8th November 1980, lot 218, and again twice at Christie's New York, 22nd March 1999, lot 317, and 21st September 2004, lot 331; and another doucai flask of similar shape with the dragon motif included in the exhibition China. The Three Emperors, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006, cat. no. 217.

For Qianlong mark and period wares decorated with medallions of fruiting branches of peach and bats, see a blue and-white vase of bronze hu form, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Blue-and-White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, book II, Hong Kong, 1968, pl. 13; and another sold in our New York rooms, 30th May 1990, lot 167.

An exceptionally large blue and white archaistic vase of the Ming dynasty, Wanli mark and period (1573-1620) lot 67- Est. 200,000-300,000 EUR, a blue and white dragon basin of the same reign (Lot 68 - Est. 150,000-200,000 EUR) and a Ming Dynasty, Zhengde mark and period (1506-1521) yellow ground and underglazed blue decorated dish (Lot 75 - Est. 150,000-200,000) complete this selection of fine porcelains.

Rare vase archaïsant en porcelaine bleu blanc. Chine, Dynastie Ming, marque et époque Wanli (1573-1619).

A rare blue and white porcelain archaïstic vase, China, Ming Dynasty, Wanli mark and period (1573-1619) 

de forme gu, le corps globulaire entre le col et le pied évasé, agrémenté de six rangées d'arêtes crênelées décorées de fleurettes, le col flanqué d'anses en têtes d'animaux fabuleux, à décor de dragons et phénix affrontés intercalés de rinceaux fleuris et entrelacs, le col souligné d'une frise de ruyi et agrémenté d'une marque horizontale à six caractères dans un cartouche rectangulaire au col, l'intérieur à décor de palmettes et motifs géométriques, le pied souligné d'une frise de grecques; 96 cm, 37 7/8 in.

PROVENANCE: Acquired from an antiquarian in Munich by the father of the present owner.

NOTE: An Imperial Commission for a Buddhist Altar* Regina Krahl

This extravagant imperial temple vase of the Wanli reign (1573-1620) is one of the largest Chinese porcelain vases ever made during China's dynastic period. Commissions by the court of major temple vases were highly unusual.

Whereas sizeable vessels for practical use, such as large chargers, immense fish bowls and massive jars had been made to imperial order already in the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and were still much in demand at the Jiajing court (1522-66), temple vases did not figure among significant imperial commissions.

The most famous temple vases that are preserved – impressive though they unquestionably are – are all considerably smaller than the present example and, more importantly, they do not represent imperial orders, but were commissioned by commoners. This is true for the most outstanding pieces of the Yuan dynasty, the blue-and-white 'David vases' of 1351 (63.6 cm high), and a Longquan celadon vase of 1327 (measuring 72 cm), as well as for those of the Ming, like a Longquan celadon example dated to 1454 (69 cm) and a blue-and-white vase of 1496 (62.1 cm), all in the Sir Percival David Collection and illustrated in Sheila Riddell, Dated Chinese Antiquities 600-1650, London, 1979, pls. 62, 9, 14, 64. Temple vases made for the court prior to the Wanli period are rare and much smaller; compare, for example a blue-and-white piece of Zhengde mark and period (1506-1521) in the same collection, 45 cm high, illustrated in Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, La Porcelaine Ming, Fribourg, 1978, pl. 105.

The Wanli period experienced a strong revival of Buddhism and unprecedented imperial patronage of Buddhist causes. The Wanli Emperor has gone down in history as a weak and negligent ruler and has often been deemed responsible for the demise of the dynasty. While in his later years he indeed notoriously neglected the affairs of state – due perhaps at least partly to a medical condition –, for many decades the Wanli reign was a very prosperous period. It was a great era of trade and production, when society was affluent, new crops were introduced from the Americas to feed the rapidly increasing population, great literary works were created, such as Xiyouji ('Journey to the West') and Jinpingmei ('Plum in a Golden Vase'), and the tolerance of the activities of Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits is testimony to a certain openness to new scientific ideas.

The Wanli Emperor was enthroned at the age of nine and during his infancy the state was controlled jointly by his mother, Lishi (1546-1614), the Grand Secretary, Zhang Juzheng, and the chief eunuch, Feng Bao. Lishi, a consort of the Longqing Emperor (r. 1567-1572), who after her son's enthronisation received the title Empress Dowager Cisheng, remained highly influential at court throughout her life.

Being a fervent believer, Cisheng, who also titled herself Nine-Lotus-Bodhisattva (Jiulian Pusa), granted imperial patronage to Buddhist monasteries on a significant scale and commissioned the construction or restoration of many Buddhist temples, at a level that caused financial concern to the Grand Secretary. Her generosity for Buddhist causes increased when the Emperor was granted his first son, after she had ordered a mass congregation of monks and laymen, who assembled in 1581/2 at the Tayuan Temple on mount Wutai in Shanxi, to pray for a male heir.

The Tayuan Temple itself had been restored under her auspices and this congregation had been called into being by the Chan Buddhist monk Fudeng (1540-1613), who was famous for his devout activities, was already backed by one of the imperial princes and henceforth became one of Cisheng's particular protégés. During the Wanli reign he erected or restored many temple buildings with moneys from the imperial treasury, in particular on mount Emei in Sichuan and mount Wutai, but also at various other locations (fig. 1). He became renowned as an architect and civil engineer for his building style characterized by beamless brick constructions (wuliang dian). His most ambitious project was the erection of three Bronze Halls (tong dian) for the three Bodhisattvas on three of the holy mountains: one for Guanyin on Putuoshan, an island off Zhejiang province (eventually built on Baohuashan in Jiangsu instead); one for Wenshu on Wutaishan; and one for Puxian on Emeishan.

These important, newly built or rehabilitated Buddhist temples and shrines clearly needed to be furnished, and altar vases were equally required for Buddhist worship within the Imperial palaces, and for donations to worthy Buddhist clerics, such as the monk Biechuan, whose pious deeds were lavishly rewarded with Buddhist accoutrements by the Emperor and his mother, when he visited the capital. In light of this dedicated Buddhist patronage by the imperial family, the commission of temple vases of unprecedented grandeur from the imperial porcelain kilns of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province should not be surprising.

The Wanli period was the last great reign and the last period of imperial porcelain production in the Ming dynasty, and the affairs of state are echoed in the fate of the imperial kilns, which experienced a last flowering in the late 1500s.

The Wanli court was notorious for its exorbitant expenses, and its large orders of porcelain and cloisonné became associated with the country's later economic problems. To fulfil the required quota, even private kilns were at times recruited to supply some of the less complex porcelains. The production of a tour-de-force such as this vase, however, would undoubtedly have remained for the imperial factories to accomplish; even there such a feat was rarely satisfactorily completed.

The Palace Museum, Beijing, owns a somewhat smaller (76.5 cm) octafoil blue-and-white temple vase without flanges and animal masks, painted with auspicious animals, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 173 (fig. 2), where it is stated that this innovative beaker is superior to any of the traditional flower vases and was made to be placed before the Buddha in the Imperial House.

In the Wanli reign the imperial manufactories produced comparable vases in various forms and designs, with circular, hexagonal or square bodies, with and without flanges, painted in underglaze-blue or polychrome enamels, with dragons only, dragons and phoenixes, auspicious animals or flowers – probably reflecting identity and rank of the patron commissioning it. Complete examples are nevertheless extremely rare.

One very similar vase, fractionally smaller, was offered by Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art, The Netherlands, in 2000, decorated with pairs of dragons rather than dragons and phoenixes, with the central part of the beaker more angular, and the reign mark centred on a flange, while on the present vase it is centred on one of the panels around the centre and the animal masks are instead aligned with flanges.

A similar blue-and-white vase decorated with lotus scrolls only, from the J. Love collection, is published in R.L. Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1923, pl. 31, fig. 2. Three related Wanli temple vases are in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, see Idemitsu Bijutsukan zhin zuroku. Chgoku tji/Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pls 743, 741 and 203: a blue-and-white dragon-decorated piece without flanges, a polychrome flower-decorated one with flanges, and a polychrome dragon-and-phoenix vase without flanges, all with more angular centre. A pair of polychrome dragon-and-phoenix vases with flanges in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is published in Warren E. Cox, The Book of Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1944, pl. 143 top right.

* Significant information for this essay has been drawn from L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds, Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368-1644, New York and London, 1976; and James Morris Hargett, Stairway to Heaven. A Journey to the Summit of Mount Emei, Albany, 2006.

Plat lobé en porcelaine bleu blanc. Chine, Dynastie Ming, marque et époque Wanli (1573-1619). 

A blue and white lobed 'dragon' basin, China, Ming Dynasty, Wanli mark and period (1573-1620)

le fond orné de deux dragons à cinq griffes en vol autour de la perle enflammée parmi des nuages stylisés, les parois intérieures et les bordures également décorées de dragons, le pourtour extérieur agrémenté des huit emblèmes bouddhistes bajixiang dans des rinceaux stylisés, marque à six caractères dans un double cercle en bleu sous couverte à la base; 34 cm, 13 5/8 in.

NOTE: While Wanli mark and period basins of this elegant octafoil form can be found decorated in both blue-and-white and polychrome enamels, it is rare to find examples painted with the dragon design. In its potting, form and decoration this vessel reflects the powerful style and manufacture characteristic of Jingdezhen's production in the Wanli period.

Although the emperor himself paid little attention to state affairs, arts under his reign, according to Charles O. Hucker, was vigorous, creative, productive and exploratory. See L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368-1644, New York and London, 1976, p. 325.

While no other closely related example appears to be recorded, the same bajixiang motif can be seen on the exterior of a blue-and-white octafoil basin decorated with a figure scene, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 2, pl. 189; and another formerly in the collections of Su Lin An and Meiyintang, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 1995, lot 321, and again, 7th April 2011, lot 72. The bajixiang design on the exterior is also known in a polychrome version; see an octafoil Wanli mark and period basin painted in the wucai palette with a figural scene, sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1979, lot 309.

Compare also a five-lobed basin finely painted in underglaze-blue and wucai enamels with a five-clawed dragon and a phoenix in the centre amongst flowers, included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, the Royal Academy of London, London, 1935, cat. no. 1979, sold in our London rooms, 24th March 1953, lot 82; and another polychrome pentafoil basin decorated with a single large front-facing five-clawed dragon surrounded by ruyi clouds, from the Jingguantang collection, sold at Christie's New York, 20th March 1997, lot 89. 

The other highlights include an impressive Imperial four panels zitan cabinet carved with dragons (Lot 35 - Est. 50,000-70,000 EUR) and a variety of works of art from the scholar studio,  amongst them a large white jade archaistic vase from an old French private collection, (Lot 126 - Est. 150,000-200,000 EUR) and the remaining selection of rhinoceros horn libation cups from the Edward.T.Chow and Franklin Chow collection.

Quatre panneaux en zitan sculpté formant cabinet. Chine, Dynastie Qing, Époque Qianlong (1736-1795) ou antérieur.

An exceptional set of four carved zitan panels mounted as a cabinet, China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795), possibly earlier 

les panneaux extérieurs à décor de deux dragons à cinq griffes à la poursuite de la perle enflammée dans des nuages stylisés volant au-dessus de rochers émergeant de flots tumultueux, agrémentés sur l'un de pivoines entourées du noeud sans fin et de la carpe, sur l'autre d'iris accompagnées du parasol et du dais, les deux panneaux centraux à décor de deux couples de dragons dont deux représentés de face poursuivant la perle sacrée dans les nuages stylisés au-dessus de rochers et vagues où poussent des chrysanthèmes accompagnées du vase sacré, d'un lotus Ming à droite et d'un lotus Qing à gauche, les charnières en bronze doré ciselé de dragons dans des nuages stylisés, la ferrure centrale rectangulaire à décor de caractères shou, dragons, nuages et flots tumultueux, d'où pendent deux petites plaques agrémentées de chauves-souris, la partie basse entièrement sculptée de nuages stylisés ; le montage postérieur, longue fente sur le panneau intérieur droit; 241,5 x 208,3 x 53,3 cm. ; 95 x 82 x 21 in.

NOTE: The present cabinet is notable for its richly carved

dense cloud ground. The exceptional high relief and complex composition of the panels are comparable with that seen zitan panels of dragons rising from tumultuous waves against a on an exquisite throne, also carved from zitan and suggesting that they may have been carved by the same hand. 

Further example of large screens carved with similar scenes include a rectangular pair sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th September 1989, lot 1577; and two shaped pairs sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2007, lots 871 and 872. 

See a large zitan cabinet, similarly decorated with dragon and cloud designs, pictured in situ in the bedroom behind theYangxin dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation), illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 249.  

The large panels of this cabinet are carved from the most precious and highly esteemed timber available to the master craftsmen working in the Muzuo (Wood Workshop) belonging to the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshop). With its jade-like silky texture, extremely fine and dense grain and subtle yet deep lustre, zitan was the favoured timber of the Ming and Qing courts. It was particularly valuable for its long growth period combined with its limited supply, and cultivated mainly in the southern regions such as Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. By the Qing dynasty, excessive felling of zitan led to its exhaustion in China and large quantities had to be imported from islands in the South Pacific. During Kangxi's reign demand for zitan was so great that even young trees were cut, thus leading to the complete extinction of the species. By Qianlong's reign, special measures were taken by the Court to protect any existing stores of zitan, which were kept in the warehouses of the Imperial Workshop. The Archives of the Imperial Workshop at Yangxin Hall (Yangxin dian zaoban chu ge zuocheng huoji qing dang) confirm that the use of zitan was scrupulously monitored and restricted to the Palace Workshops. Furthermore, Qianlong gave special instructions to ensure the most economical and responsible use of the palace's zitan supply to avoid any waste.

Vase couvert archaïsant en jade céladon pâle. Chine, Dynastie Qing, fin du XVIIIe- début du XIXe siècle.

A carved pale celadon jade archaistic vase and cover, China, Qing Dynasty, late 18th/early 19th century 

de forme balustre aplatie à section carrée, le col allant en se rétrécissant flanqué d'anses en têtes d'éléphants, le pied légèrement évasé, à décor archaïsant très finement sculpté de masques de taotie, animaux fabuleux et ruyi stylisés autour du col, le couvercle agrémenté de masques de taotie ; longue inclusion rouille sur une face et les côtés; 28 cm, 11 in.

NOTE: This vase is impressive for its large size and fine carving of the elephant head handles and archaistic decoration in low relief. A vase of this size and form, but adorned with an Indian lotus scroll design and ringed monster-mask handles, from the R. Norris Shreeve collection, was sold in our New York rooms, 31st May 1994, lot 52. Compare also a larger vase of similar form, but flanked with dragon-mask handles suspending loose rings, its foot with broad indentations on each side and the body carved with an exquisite la dscape scene inhabited by figures, sold three times at auction, most recently in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 563