Lot 3670. A superb yellow jade hexagonal vase, gu, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century; 18.8 cm., 7 3/8  in. Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 7,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby’s.

of compressed hexagonal section and of archaistic gu form, the central section with rounded sides resting on a hollow splayed foot and surmounted by a tall flared neck, the mid-section incised with archaistic scrolls, the neck and foot with archaistic upright and pendent cicada blades, the stone of a warm yellow colour with attractive russet inclusions; 18.8 cm., 7 3/8  in.

Provenance: Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th October 2003, lot 826.

Note: Masterfully carved with a taotie band framed by stiff leaves, this vase is notable for the luminous yellow stone, the quality of which has been accentuated by the low-relief design. The boulder used for making this vase is unusually large and relatively flawless, and is particularly striking for its saturated colouration. Yellow jade was favoured by the Qing Court for its association with the Imperial colour of yellow.

Beaker vases of this archaic bronze form, known as gu, were reproduced in a variety of media with various designs and of varying proportions, with or without flanges. Bronze, cloisonné enamel, porcelain and jade versions were made in abundance due to the Qing emperors’ keen interest in antiquity. A hexagonal flanged jade gu vase is painted on the handscroll Guwan Tu(‘Pictures of Ancient Playthings’), produced in the Yongzheng period (r. 1722-1735) and now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which was included in the exhibition China. The Three Emperors, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006, cat. no. 169.

A facetted and lobed white jade gu vase, similarly carved in low relief with a taotie mask, in the De An Tang collection, was included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 126; another, from the collection of Major R.W. Cooper, was sold at Christie’s London, 24th April 1963, lot 24, and again, 4th November 2008, lot 13; and a flanged hexagonal vase was sold at Christie’s New York, 23rd March 2012, lot 1939. Compare also a facetted vase, similarly carved with a taotie mask and lappets, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the exhibition The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, cat. no. 11.

Sotheby’s. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 oct. 2014