A pair of white jade bowls, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century

17 mai 2020

A pair of white jade bowls, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century

Lot 3697. A pair of white jade bowls, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century; 19.1 cm., 7 1/2 in. Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,500,000 HKD. Sold for 1,875,000 HKD (215,542 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

each finely worked with deep rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to an everted rim, the stone of an even white colour with faint russet and milky inclusions.

Provenance:Collection of Dr. Helga Wall-Apelt.

Exhibited: Daphne Lange Rosenzweig, The Yangtze River Collection: Later Chinese Jades, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, 1993, cat. no. 16.

Note: Perfectly proportioned and smoothly polished to a lustrous sheen, these bowls have been carved from a superior white stone and hence embody the finest of jade carving of the Qianlong/Jiaqing period. The sensitive modelling and lack of any embellishment reflects its porcelain-inspired form and a deep respect for the stone itself, which is one of the most highly-valued materials in China. Such large and flawless stones, characterised by the evenness of tone, were available from the mid-18th century which saw the production of complete services for the imperial court. A similar bowl was included in the exhibition Jades from China, Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, 1994, cat. no. 340, where it is mentioned that in the year 1753, ‘101 pieces of uncarved jade with a recorded weight of 2 1/3 tonnes were selected and orders places with Suzhou… for 100 bowls and 100 zhuomu’ (see p. 389).

Further bowls and possibly from this special commissioned group include one exhibited in Later Chinese Jades. Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2007, cat. no. 113, where it is noted that the thin walls of the vessel highlight the translucence of the material and purity of its colour, two characteristics shared with its porcelain prototypes. Another pair in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 29:13, where the author states that such undecorated jade vessels in porcelain shapes probably represented the highest quality eating and drinking utensils. Sumptuary laws, which restricted the use of jade vessels, and passages in novels that mention the utilitarian use of jade cups and bowls, indicate that jade was highly valued and seldom used for eating and drinking (see p. 400).

Compare also a bowl included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade. From the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 116; a pair, from the Cunliffe collection, sold at Bonhams London, 11th November 2002, lot 10, and again in these rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 555; and a pair from the collection of Kenneth Dingwall sold in our London rooms, 14th May 2014, lot 23.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 07 october 2015