A RARE WHITE JADE CENSER AND COVER QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

well carved, in an archaistic gui form rising to a wide everted neck, carved in low relief with taotie masks and set to either side with a pair of sinuous chilong clambering up to the everted rim, their back paws planted on the base of loop handles with pendent tabs, the cover with openwork phoenix scrolls, the knop of a coiled chilong-form, the semi-translucent stone with an opaque mottling and some amber inclusions, openwork fitted wood stand, Japanese wood box (4)

Collection of the Manno Art Museum, Osaka, Japan.
Christie's Hong Kong, 29th-30th October 2001, lot 699.

The censer has scattered minor nicks to the edges. The cover has a minor nick to the tail of the chilong. Otherwise, in overall good condition.
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.

Continuing the Song Dynasty tradition of carving jade vessels in the form of archaic bronzes, the Qing dynasty, adapted classical forms and put their own decorative elements on them. The present lot incorporates the archaic taotie animal masks on the body, but rather than using bovines on the cover and handles, as often found on Zhou Dynasty bronzes, the Qing artisans replaced them with chilong. A Qianlong period white jade censer and cover with a tripod base and 'three ram' cover was sold in our Hong Kong rooms 8th October 2010, lot 2609. For another gui-form related examples of similar form see The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, Sotheby's, London, 2013, p. 103, no. 22.