Lot 23. A finely carved white jade censer and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising from a spreading foot, carved in relief with a band of stylised foliate scrolls below a band of serpents, flanked by a pair of dragon handles, the domed cover similarly carved surmounted with a coiled dragon finial, the stone of an even white to pale celadon tone with white inclusions and some russet staining. Quantité: 2 - 16.5 cm, 6 3/8  in.

Provenance: M. Tournet, Paris.
John Sparks Ltd., London, 12th June 1954 (£450).

Notes: This piece embodies the brilliant creativity of Qing craftsman in its combination of contemporary and archaic decorative motifs. Continuing in the Song dynasty tradition of reinterpreting large archaic ritual bronzes into small jade vessels, this incense burner also incorporates the archaic taotie motif, which has been further abstracted and rendered with feathery eyelashes and nose to display the influence of the florid style characteristic of Hindustan jade wares made in the Mughal period, which began to arrive at court in the middle of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign.

A slightly larger censer of similar shape and design was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29th November 1979, lot 409; another was sold at Christie’s London,  16th December 1987, lot 488; and a third, but with loop handles, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st April 1992, lot 1186. See also a spinach-green jade censer carved with a similarly rendered taotie, illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 82

The two bands of interlocking serpents on the body and cover of the vessel, as well as the twisted rope design, were inspired by archaic bronzes made during the Eastern Zhou dynasty: see for example the motif of interlocking dragons on the shoulder of a lei, in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., illustrated in Jenny So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes, vol. III, New York, 1995, pl. 30, together with a fou decorated in relief with twisted wires, pl. 34.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Jades from the Thompson-Schwab Collection Londres, 09 nov. 2016, 10:00 AM