A CARVED AGATE VASE AND A SOAPSTONE LIBATION CUP QING DYNASTY

the vase carved in the form of a hollowed, twisting pine tree with a qilin, bat, and lingzhi, of white and caramel-colored stone with some translucent, red, and lavender colored inclusions; the libation cup of conical section opening into an undulating rim, nested in blossoming prunus branches carved in openwork, of yellow and red stone with black inclusions (2)

Collection of Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923), Rhode Island, and thence by descent.

Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923) was a prominent and intrepid American geologist and explorer. In the latter half of the 19th century, he conducted mineralogical surveys in northern China, Japan, the Gobi Desert, and several parts of the United States. Pumpelly pursued mining operations throughout the U.S. and was a leading figure in the nascent U.S. Geological Survey. Pumpellyite, a mineral first found in Keweenaw County, Michigan, is named in his honor.