A LARGE SPINACH-GREEN JADE 'CHAMPION' VASE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

boldly worked and hollowed in the form of two tubular pedestal vases flanking an eagle standing on the head of a recumbent winged bear, the eagle's wings outstretched across both vases, each vase centred with a band enclosing stylised phoenix writhing sinuously and a chilong band, all between two pendent leiwen blades, the foot bordered with a key-fret band, the stone of a dark green colour mottled with grey and beige inclusions, wood stand

An American private collector.
Christie's Hong Kong, 1st November 2004, lot 834.

The vase was formerly broken, possibly from falling, and has been professionally fixed together. There do not appear to be any missing elements apart from minute flakes, and there is overpainting covering the old restoration. The major breaks extend vertically through of the cylinders, and are visible on the interior. There are polished chips to the fragile exteriors. Other minor surface wear. The spinach-green jade material is heavily calcified, as visible in the catalogue photo.
"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."

This finely carved ‘champion’ vase encapsulates the Qianlong emperor’s reverence for the past, as it derives from archaic bronze vessels produced from as early as the Western Han dynasty (206 BC- AD 9). These prototypes were cast in the form of two cups joined by an eagle (ying) standing on a bear (xiong); see one excavated in Mancheng, Hebei province, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jades. From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 387, fig. 4. ‘Champion’ vases regained popularity in the Song dynasty (960-1279), and by the Qianlong reign (1735-1796) became an important part of marriage rituals, with the two compartments of the vase symbolising the union between bride and groom.

A similar vase and cover, but the cylinders carved under the rim with a band of raised studs, is illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 73; one was sold in our London rooms, 20th November 1973, lot 71; another, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade, Qing Dynasty, vol. 10, Beijing, 2011, pl. 149; and a slightly larger example, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is published in S. Howard Hansford, Chinese Carved Jades, London, 1968, pl. 94.

Compare also vases of this form but of smaller size, such as one in the De An Tang collection, included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 131; and another exhibited in Jade as Sculpture, Minnesota Museum of Art, Saint Paul, 1975, cat. no. 64.

‘Champion’ vases were made in a variety of media; for an example see a bronze vase attributed to the Song dynasty, illustrated in Paul Moss and Gerard Hawthorn, The Second Bronze Age. Later Chinese Metalwork, Sydney Moss Ltd., London, 1991, cat. no. 35; and a cloisonné enamel example from the Clague collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Cloisonné, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, 1980, cat. no. 39.