A large spinach jade alms bowl Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century

of compressed ovoid form, boldly carved overall with a dense ground of cloud scrolls interspersed with eight large bats in flight, four of them suspending beribboned Buddhist emblems, all above a swirling wave base, the dark spinach-green stone flecked overall with black and white inclusions, wood stand (2)

Collection of Lady Beaumont, London.
William Clayton, London.
Rare Art Inc., New York.

Spinach jade bowls of this type carved with bats and Buddhist emblems are rare, although a similar 'bajixiang' spinach jade bowl was sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2006, lot 33.  Compare a related spinach jade bowl, although carved with dragons amongst clouds, sold in our London rooms, 10th November 2004, lot 572; as well as a pair, sold at Christie’s New York, 18th September 2003, lot 111. See also a jade bowl in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 6, Shijiazhuang, 1993, pl. 333, which is carved in a style very similar to the present piece.