A RARE RETICULATED YELLOW JADE 'PURSE' 'KUI DRAGON' POMANDER INCISED SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

the attractive warm yellow stone faintly accentuated with russet inclusions, the receptacle comprising two 'purse'-shaped sides and a rectangular cover, each side exquisitely reticulated and centred with a shou medallion wreathed by scrolling foliage and flanked by a pair of stylised coiling kui dragons, below a stylised striated band, the interior of one side incised with a horizontal four-character seal mark, the rectangular cover with two lobed long sides and detailed with fine incisions

S. Marchant & Son Ltd., London, 3rd January 1992.

The pomander is in overall very good condition with just expected extremely minute bruises and nicks to the edges and extremities.
"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."

Meticulously carved in openwork with two confronting kui dragons and a shou character, this pomander would have been filled with fragrant herbs and tied at the belt. A closely related example, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Museum's Exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Costume Accessories, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 232, where the origin of small purses and fragrant pouches is discussed in relation to a passage from the Liji [Book of Rites], which mentions purses made of various media used to hold fragrances.

Another jade pomander of closely related form was included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, The Asia House Gallery, New York, 1980, cat. no. 228; and a pair, from the collection of Professor Klaus J. Mueller, was sold in our New York rooms, 17th April 1985, lot 210, and again at Christie's New York, 30th March 2005, lot 130. See also a pomander of this type, but lacking the Qianlong mark, from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 4th May 1994, lot 468; another included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from the Mu-Fei Collection, Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, 1990, cat. no. 74, and sold in our London rooms, 12th July 2006, lot 258; and a third, carved in openwork with bats, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade, vol. 9, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl. 181.