A CELADON JADE 'CRANE AND PRUNUS' VASE AND COVER QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

the flattened ovoid body rising to a waisted neck and lipped rim, carved around the sides in high relief with a gnarled blossoming prunus tree and a standing crane grasping a lingzhi sprig in its beak, all supported on a pierced rocky base, the domed cover surmounted by an oval knob, the stone of an even pale celadon tone, wood stand

Collection of Dr Cheng Te-k'un (1908-2001), until 1951.
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1951.
Collection of Alan Pilkington, father of Roger Pilkington, from 1951 to 1963 (£48). 
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1963 (£25).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1963 (£95). 

This elegant vase exemplifies the technical skill achieved by jade carvers of the 18th century. The craftsman has deftly fashioned the stone with an array of motifs in various levels of relief, as seen in the naturalistic rendering of the delicate prunus branches, which contrast with the robust jagged rock formation at the base, and the meticulously detailed feathers of the crane.

Compare a larger vase decorated with a prunus tree and two cranes, sold in our New York rooms, 19th/20th October 1988, lot 285; and another two vases, but lacking the crane, the first in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Yang Boda, Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages. Connoisseurship of Chinese Jades, vol. 11, Hong Kong, 1997, pl. 16; and the second in the Minnesota Museum of Art, included in the Museum's exhibition Jade as Sculpture, Saint Paul, 1975, cat. no. 41.

A vase of similar shape but decorated with a tree bearing nine peaches, from the De An Tang collection, was included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 53.