AN INSCRIBED WHITE JADE MOON FLASK AND COVER QING DYNASTY

of compressed rounded form supported by a splayed rectangular foot and rising to a squared neck flanked by archaistic kuilong-mask handles suspending loose rings and surmounted by a stepped cover with faceted knop, one side of the body more rounded in profile and relief carved with a scene of a lone boat sailing towards a house raised up on a craggy shore, the reverse inscribed with a Yuan dynasty poem, the sides and neck further carved as if bound and knotted in rope, incised with an apocryphal four-character Qianlong seal mark within a square, the stone with faint russet inclusions, fitted wood stand (3)

Collection of Mrs. F. Clore Davis, London (by repute).
G. Malina Inc., New York, 1982.

The poem inscribed on this flask was composed by the Yuan dynasty connoisseur Zhao Yan (active during the first half of the Yuan dynasty), who inspected paintings for the court and was commissioned by the Mongol Princess Da Cheng (c. 1283-1331) to inscribe colophons and compose poetry for vetted works in the imperial collection. The original calligraphic poem is now in the Taipei National Palace Museum collection.