Note: Jades carved in this florid style which originated in Hindustan in the Mughal period began to come to China from approximately the middle of the Qianlong reign, and the Emperor immediately grew fond of them. The first carved jade bowl to have been sent from Central Asia as tribute is recorded for 1756, and thereafter tribute gifts of this type continued to arrive throughout Qianlong reign and beyond. Concurrently, Moslem jade carvers were brought to work in the Palace Workshops to fashion similar wares, and as early as 1764 exact copies of Indian jades held at the palace were reproduced by Chinese craftsmen working at the court. (For further historical details see the article by Teng Shu-ping in the Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Hindustan Jade in the National Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1983, pp. 9-109.) 

The present cup, with its base carved in the form of a stylised lotus bud, relates very closely to a slightly larger bowl in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the exhibition, ibid., cat. no. 9, while the acanthus bud handles are extremely similar to a slightly shallower bowl, cat. no. 6. See also a lobed jade bowl with two bud-form handles, similarly carved with floral sprays above a band of acanthus leaves and the base carved as an open Indian lotus blossom, cat. no. 19; and a Mughal-style bowl of celadon-green jade carved with blossoms and buds among foliage above a band of petals and a quatrefoil blossom base, from the T.Y. Chao collection, sold twice in these rooms, 2nd December 1976, lot 715, and 19th May 1987, lot 365, and again in our New York rooms, 18th March 2008, lot 13.

The yuyong mark, which designated objects for the personal use of the Emperor, is certainly the most prestigious among all marks found on Imperial wares, and was only used in rare occasions for the Emperor's most admired objects. It is seldom found on Mughal jades and, apart from the present piece, all published examples bearing the yuyong mark are inlaid with precious stones. Compare, for example, a covered green jade bowl in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, also included in the exhibition ibid., cat. no. 19; and another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 6, Shijiazhuang, 1993, pl. 63, which has floral handles and a stylised floral base similar to those of the present piece. However, the most compelling feature of all Mughal pieces marked with the characters Qianlong yuyong remains the excellence of workmanship, which prompted the Emperor to reserve them for his own use1.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, 08 Oct 10 11:00 AM, Hong Kong