A WELL-CARVED WHITE JADE VASE AND COVER QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

of slender baluster shape rising from a tall, slightly everted foot decorated with four flanges, the body finely carved in low-relief with large pendent lappets each enclosing a stylized taotie mask, the shoulder and neck decorated with a band of taotie masks between S-shaped curls and set with a pair of phoenix-head handles each suspending a loose ring, the cover decorated with four rams in low relief below a hollow floret knop, a Qianlong four-character seal-script mark carved on the exterior of the foot rim, the stone an even whitish tone, the cover possibly associated (2)

Estate of Pauline E. Woolworth.
Sotheby's New York, 28th November 1994, lot 27.

Overall good condition. The color of the cover is more yellow than the vase and is approximately ¼ inch smaller in diameter, however the flange fits neatly inside the neck of the vase. The color of the vase is a slightly more greenish tone than in the catalogue photo. There is a tiny frit to the edge of the footrim
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The mark on this vase uses stylized seal-script characters and can be found on a number of jades of archaistic form or design in known collections. Compare, for example, a small white jade dragon and ring pendant bearing this mark in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum, published in James C.Y. Watt, Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, pl. 68; an identical mark is incised on the base of an archaistic yellow jade vase in the Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware, vol. III, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 66.