A VERY FINE ARCHAISTIC SPINACH-GREEN JADE INCENSE BURNER AND COVER, TULU Qianlong (2)A VERY FINE ARCHAISTIC SPINACH-GREEN JADE INCENSE BURNER AND COVER, TULUQianlongFinely carved around the exterior with a decorative band of archaistic dragons with their bodies interlaced as if to form waves, the heads rising above the writhing bodies at regular intervals, all above a further band of taotie masks, flanked with a pair of animal-head handles suspending loose rings, the cover carved with a large coiling five-clawed dragon finial surrounded by four smaller chilong, the stone of deep green tone. 15.5cm (6 1/8in) wide (2).清乾隆 碧玉四柱式爐Provenance: James Basil Wilson and Julia Wilson, acquired prior to 1977, according to insurance valuation by William Clayton Ltd. and thence by descentIn 1945, James Basil Wilson returned from The Second World War having served with the Gurkhas. He married Julia Burke in 1949 and they moved to London. James started working for Iron and Steel Exporters and later that year, he was offered the chance to set up an office Hong Kong, so they moved there and set up home. The business was successful, they loved Hong Kong and they lived the life of ex-patriates to the full. They swam, played golf, made friends and indulged their passion for fast cars, competing in amateur road races. Julia claimed to have won at the first Macau Grand Prix. As well as enjoying the pastimes of the culture they brought with them, they developed an enduring love for China, Chinese people, Chinese food and Chinese art. With a growing family, they returned to England in 1957. They brought with them the pieces they had bought in Hong Kong and James made many trips to Hong Kong and continued to build their collection throughout the following decades mainly from dealers in London.來源：James Basil Wilson與Julia Wilson伉儷舊藏。據倫敦古董商William Clayton Ltd.開具的保險估值報告，於1977年以前入藏，並由後人保存迄今James Basil Wilson二戰期間曾於廓爾喀軍團服役，1945年返回英國。 1949年與Julia Burke結婚，婚後搬至倫敦，並開始為Iron and Steel Exporters效力，同年被委任籌備香港辦事處，遂移居香港。事業發展蒸蒸日上的同時，Wilson伉儷也充分享受著外派人士的理想生活；游泳、打高爾夫、結交朋友，沉迷賽車運動甚至參加業餘車手街道賽，Julia聲稱曾完賽首屆澳門格蘭披治大賽車。在保留西方生活方式的同時，Wilson伉儷也對中國及其民眾、美食和藝術產生了長久的熱情。 1957年，隨著家庭的不斷壯大，Wilson一家回到英國，並帶回了其在香港購置的藝術品。此後，James多次前往香港，並在接下來的幾十年中持續造訪倫敦的古董商，擴充藏品。The present incense burner and cover would have been part of a three-piece garniture comprising an incense burner, a vase and incense box, often known as the 'Three Accessories' or sanshi; see two examples of such sets in spinach-green jade in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 10 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.111; and another such set in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, illustrated by Tsao Huei-chung, Jade: From Emperors to Art Deco, Paris, 2016, no.132. The sets were placed on a scholar's table in the Qing Court for burning incense.The form of this type of vessel is derived from the archaic bronze tradition. The Qing emperors proposed to 'restore ancient ways', referring to the view of ancient culture as having intrinsic qualities of sincerity, simplicity and happy exuberance. The Qianlong emperor, in particular, was fond of adapting archaic shapes into contemporary designs and instructed the Court to collect drawings of antiquities, such as the 'Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities' Xi Qing Gu Jian, which were provided to the craftsmen for inspiration; see Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp.49-50.One such vessel is illustrated by Wang Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, no.127, where the author notes that the unusual form indicates a different function from other ritual food vessels, and speculates that it may have served as a pigment container. It is interesting to note that this type of vessel was also made from jade during the archaic periods of the late Shang to early Western Zhou: see an article by Prof. Ch'eng Te-k'un, 'The T'u-lu Colour-Container of the Shang-Chou Period' in the Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 1965, vol.37, pp.239-50.Compare also a similar spinach-green jade tulu and cover in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by M.Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, pl.52.See a similar Imperial spinach-green jade tulu, 18th/19th century, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 19 March 2007, lot 16.