A RARE PALE GREEN JADE 'TWIN-FISH' WASHER QianlongA RARE PALE GREEN JADE 'TWIN-FISH' WASHERQianlongExquisitely carved around the exterior with archaistic motifs, with tall flaring sides rising to a lipped rim incised with a geometric-pattern band, after Western Zhou dynasty bronze prototypes, supported on four ruyi feet, the interior carved in high relief with a pair of fish in mirror image, the stone of pale green tone with dark-brown patches. 17cm (6 3/4in) diam.清乾隆 玉雕雙魚洗Provenance: Christie's London, 8 April 1981, lot 237James Basil Wilson and Julia Wilson, 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：倫敦佳士得，1981年4月8日，拍品編號237James Basil Wilson與Julia Wilson伉儷舊藏，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 twin-fish symbol is considered as one of the most auspicious motifs of the Eight Buddhist Emblems, bajixiang, representing freedom from restraint as well as the wish for marital bliss, prosperity and an abundance of good luck. As fish are reputed to swim in pairs and are known for their reproductive powers, the double-fish also signifies the joys of union and numerous offspring.The Qianlong emperor favoured forms and designs inspired by antiquity. The archaistic designs on the present bowl were inspired by archaic Zhou dynasty bronze ritual food vessels, and the design of fish can be seen on Eastern Zhou dynasty bronze pan vessels, with twin-fish appearing more frequently from the Song dynasty onwards. Compare with a larger pale green jade twin-fish basin, dated 1786, with similar fish design, illustrated by M.Knight, He Li, and T.Tse Bartholomew, Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, 2007, p.180, pl.181; see also two larger jade twin-fish basins carved with double fish in mirror image, Qianlong, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pls.7 and 9.See an Imperially-inscribled pale green jade 'twin-fish' washer, Qianlong mark and period, which was sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2019, lot 806.