An imperial spinach green jade stembowl Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period

the translucent moss green stone with internal flecking of deeper green, generously carved with a deep wide bowl flaring at the lip, supported on a tall cylindrical foot widening at the base, (fitted box)

Acquired in Hong Kong, 2002.

The overall condition is very good.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In its elegant form this stem-cup is after the famous Ming dynasty white jade stem-cup of the same dimensions with similar flared mouth, a sloping wall, and a curved body gracefully balanced on a stem foot, in the Tibet Museum, Lhasa, included in the exhibition Treasures from the Snow Mountains. Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2001, cat. no. 98, together with its packing case, pl. 99.  A Qianlong period jade stem-cup with the high stem foot covered in gold leaf, also from the Tibet Museum collection, was included in the Shanghai Museum exhibition ibid., cat. no. 100. Compare also a Khotan jade stem-cup of celadon tone shaped after chrysanthemum petal, of similar size to the present piece, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages – Connoisseurship of Chinese Jades, Vol. 11, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 14, similarly attributed to the Qing dynasty.

Jade stem-cups are after early Ming, Yongle period, ceramic prototypes made in the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. See a Yongle white-glazed stem-cup with anhua decoration included in the Shanghai Museum exhibition op.cit., cat. no. 93; one from the Brankston collection illustrated in John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, col. Pl. 43; and a third example in the British Museum, London, published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 3:1. 

Stem-cups of this type were much favoured by the Tibetan nobility and were used for drinking wine. Tibetan men habitually carried a stem-cup with them when they were out. It was considered an ominous sign if a cup broke, hence they were usually carried in their own packing case generally made of metal, lacquered wood or leather.