An exceptional white and russet jade archaistic ewer and cover Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清亁隆 白玉雕仿古鳳凰紋活環連蓋匜

Collection of Major R. W. Cooper.

Christie's, London, 29th April 1963, lot 31.

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R. W. Cooper 少校珍藏

倫敦佳士得，1963年4月29日，編號31

The present jade vessel is know as a yi named after an archaic bronze covered pouring vessel of similar shape dating to the Western Zhou period (Ca. 1046-771 BC). 

Encouraged by the Qianlong Emperor's passion for the Antique, Qing craftsmen began to look at the past for inspiration and adapt the forms and designs of archaic jades and bronzes into their pieces. This ewer belongs to a renowned group of large archaistic white and russet jades commissioned by the Qing court from the mid-18th century. number of which being Several of them are still preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing and are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol.42, Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995 (for example nos. 136 and 143). All these vessels are similarly worked from an even white stone and fashioned with russet patches meant to simulate an archaic pebble. Compare two archaïstic vessels also related to this group sold in our Paris rooms, 10th June 2015, lot 78 and 88, originally from a German collection formed in China between 1894 and 1922.

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匜，高古青銅器型，盛水或酒用，可溯源至西周。清乾隆帝好古慕雅，玉匠因而取材遠古時期，以高古玉器及青銅器為靈感製器，本品出自一組清宮御製大型帶棕色玉斑之白玉仿古器，斷代十八世紀中期，部份現藏於北京故宮博物院，圖載《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．玉器（下）》，香港，1995年，兩例為編號136及143。全組玉器均雕刻自屬圓潤而帶棕色玉斑、模仿高古石塊之原材，比較兩仿古玉雕，出自同組作例，售於巴黎蘇富比2015年6月10日，編號78及88號，出自集成於1894至1922年間中國之德國收藏。