Lot 92. A fine white jade 'lotus' box and cover, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 8.7cm (3 3/8in) diam. Estimate: £ 10,000-15,000. Sold for £ 20,000 (€ 22,330). © Bonhams

The flawless stone of a lustrous pale tone with rounded sides rising from a short recessed foot, intricately carved in relief to the dome-shaped cover with a central medallion enclosing two lotus flower heads borne on scrolling tendrils issuing curling acanthus leaves, the interior well hollowed. 

Provenance: acquired from Spink & Son, Ltd., London on 7 February 1979
An English private collection.

Note: The lustrous white jade box and cover is a very fine example of the highest quality of white jade. Such fine stone had become more available following the Qianlong emperor's conquest of the Dzungar Khanate between 1755 and 1759, renamed Xinjiang, where much of the jade was sourced. The subtle low-relief design restricted to the top of the cover, enhances the master craftsman's choice to keep the walls of the box and cover plain, displaying the superb quality of the natural white jade stone polished to a lustrous sheen.

For related white jade boxes and covers, carved on the top with shou medallions, see R.Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl.85, later sold at Christie's Hong Kong on 27 November 2007, lot 1519; and The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, London, 2013, pl.64.