AN EXCEPTIONAL AND EXTREMELY RARE BLACK AND WHITE JADE MOONFLASK QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

boldly worked with a body of flattened globular form rising from a rectangular pedestal foot to a waisted neck and galleried rim of corresponding form, the neck flanked by a pair of scroll handles suspending loose rings, the lustrous black and white stone mottled with faint grey and russet inclusions

Collection of Baron and Baroness von Oertzen.

S. Howard Hansford, Jade: Essence of Hills and Streams, Johannesburg, 1969, p. 115, no. D1.

The vase is in overall good condition with just minute nibbles to the mouthrim and footrim as expected. The actual colour of the jade is similar to the catalogue illustration.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Superbly worked from the finest quality stone, utilising the natural contrast between black and white to achieve a design of extraordinary beauty and abstraction, the current jade vase is exceptional, with no other example of parallel quality recorded in any museum or private collection.

Jade carvers working in the Palace Workshops were skilled adaptors and the present moonflask is a fine example of their interpretation of ancient decoration and form to suit contemporary taste. For further examples of moonflasks imitating archaic bianhu in form and decoration, see one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, with curling handles , included in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, cat. no. 23. See also a jade moonflask sold in our New York rooms, 9-10th October 1987, lot 161.