AN IMPERIAL INSCRIBED WHITE JADE BOWL SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

well worked with steep sides rising from a splayed foot to an everted rim, the exterior neatly incised with an imperial poem eulogising Hetian jade tea bowls, dated to the first month of the the jiawu year of the Qianlong period (in accordance with 1774) and followed by a seal mark reading guxiang ('ancient fragrance'), all between two leiwen bands interrupted with taotie masks, the translucent white stone with faint icy inclusions

The bowl is in good condition. There is an approx. 0.6 cm natural flaw to the stone on the interior. The catalogue illustration is slightly brighter than the actual colour of the stone.
"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."

Finely carved from a luminous white jade stone, the present bowl is notable for the delicately carved border on a key-fret ground. Although incised jade bowls of this flared form are typical of the Qianlong period, only a small group were further embellished with this elegant decorative band; for example see two in the Palace Museum, Beijing, one carved from white jade and the other green, illustrated in Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, vol. 11, Chicago, 1996, pls 19 and 23 respectively; another white jade bowl of slightly wider proportion and dated to the gengyin year of Qianlong (1770), sold twice in these rooms, 25th April 2004, lot 51 and 8th October 2013, lot 3173; and a green jade bowl, dated to the wuyin year (1758), sold in these rooms, 7th October 2010, lot 2101.

Similar to the inscriptions found on other bowls of this type, the present imperial poem titled yong Hetian yu chawan ('In praise of a Khotan tea bowl') praised the quality of the stone from which it was carved and the enjoyment of drinking tea from such a vessel. Another poem of a similar title, for example, yong Hetian yu wan ('In praise of a Khotan bowl'), but dated to the yiyou year of the Qianlong reign (1766) in the anthology of Imperial Qianlong poems, is found on two bowls, one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum's exhibition Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds. The Culture, Practice, and Art of Tea, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2002, cat. no. 165, and the other, from the collection of Elizabeth Parke Firestone, sold at Christie's New York, 22nd March 1991, lot 532, and twice in these rooms, 26th October 2003, lot 33, and 8th April 2010, lot 1832.

The present piece is closely related in form to contemporaneous bowls made of other materials with tea-related poems. See one porcelain example inscribed in underglaze blue with the imperial poem sanqing cha ('three purities tea'), included in the Special exhibition of K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 142. For an example in lacquer, see a bowl in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Sir Harry M. Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pl. 93.