清乾隆 青白玉纏枝花卉紋雙喜雙活環耳瓶

the baluster body rising from a stepped foot to a waisted neck, flanked by a pair of animal mask handles suspending loose rings, the front and back face each carved in low relief with a double xi character between stylised foliate leaves above and a ruyi head below, all encircled by three stylised floral blooms borne on leafy scrolls, the sides with two individual xi ('happiness') characters separated by stylised ruyi strapwork, all below an archaistic lappet band with ruyi scrolls at the neck, the rim and foot encircled by key-fret bands, the stone of a pale celadon-white tone

英國私人收藏

There are minute frits to the mouth, and general surface wear and scratching, but overall the vase is in good condition. The colour is fairly accurately represented in the catalogue.
"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."

This vase represents the imperial style of jade carving actively promoted by the Qianlong Emperor, which sought to take forms and decorative motifs from archaic bronzes in the Imperial collection as the source of inspiration for the contemporary aesthetic. The form is based on the hu bronze vessel and some of the decorative motifs such as the stiff leaf band encircling the neck and the mythical beast handles are typically archaistic. By referring to antiquity, the Qianlong Emperor sought to invest his own generation with ancient values to thus enrich both art and life in his reign. 

Nonetheless, the floral elements on this vase also evoke the highly ornamental and complex designs found on Indian Mughal jades, which were popular at the Qing court when they first reached the court as items of trade or tribute. Revered by the emperor for their colour and decorations, many jade pieces of this period embrace design fundamentals associated with Mughal jades, such as the surrounding foliate lotus frame on this vase, and combine them with Chinese elements like the shuang xi ('double happiness') characters or the mythical-beast handles. Compare another celadon-white jade vase with xi characters of related size, sold in our New York rooms, 16th Septembre 2009, lot 260, and another example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2001, lot 712. The 'double happiness' (shuang xi) inscription suggests that this vase was commissioned as a wedding gift.

The quality of the jade material, not to mention the size of the vase, tentatively places it in the second part of the Qianlong reign, after the Western campaigns which subjugated the Dzungars and secured control over the area of Khotan and Yarkand, in present day Xinjiang, where the finest nephrite was mined. Prior to the conquest, jade came in relatively small boulders to the Imperial Workshops and many poems of the emperor deplore the scarcity of the material, but thereafter large quantities were imported each year as tribute.