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Lot Essay
During the Qianlong period, the Emperor took great interests in antiquities and a variety of works of art rendered in different media, such as jade carvings, found their inspiration from treasures that were already collected within the Forbidden City, such as the bronze hu dating to the Zhou dynasty illustrated in the woodblock printed catalogue Xiqing Gujian, 'Inspection of Antiques', which was published under the auspices of the Qianlong Emperor. The present vase followed the same archaic reference in its shape and motifs, and further strengthened in its affirmation by the mark inscribed on its base, Qianlong Fanggu, 'Imitating the Ancient (by Emperor) Qianlong'.
The present hu is of exceptional size which required a substantially large rough boulder in order to create such an impressive vase, and its expense would have been considerable. A smaller Qianlong-marked jade hu in the Avery Brundage Collection is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Treasures from the Avery Brundage Collection, The Asia Society, New York, 1968, no. 64. Compare also a monumental spinach-green jade vase and cover with a Qianlong fanggu mark with a cyclical date corresponding to 1787 from the Prince Gong, and the Alan and Simone Hartman Collections, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1386.
Compare also to a large white jade vase of slightly smaller size but of very similar form, also bearing a Qianlong fanggu mark, and carved with archaistic dragons, formerly in the William Cleverley Alexander and S. Bulgari Collections, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3370.
The present hu is of exceptional size which required a substantially large rough boulder in order to create such an impressive vase, and its expense would have been considerable. A smaller Qianlong-marked jade hu in the Avery Brundage Collection is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Treasures from the Avery Brundage Collection, The Asia Society, New York, 1968, no. 64. Compare also a monumental spinach-green jade vase and cover with a Qianlong fanggu mark with a cyclical date corresponding to 1787 from the Prince Gong, and the Alan and Simone Hartman Collections, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1386.
Compare also to a large white jade vase of slightly smaller size but of very similar form, also bearing a Qianlong fanggu mark, and carved with archaistic dragons, formerly in the William Cleverley Alexander and S. Bulgari Collections, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3370.