A VERY RARE AND LARGE PALE WHITE GREEN AND BROWN-STREAKED JADE VASE, HU Ming DynastyA VERY RARE AND LARGE PALE WHITE GREEN AND BROWN-STREAKED JADE VASE, HUMing DynastyThe vase of flattened pear shape rising from a spreading stepped foot to an everted rim, the body intricately carved on each side with a forward-facing chilong with long mane, surrounded by archaistic motifs and taotie masks, flanked by a pair of mythical-beast loop handles, the stone of pale green tone with russet and milky-white veins. 18.5cm (7 1/4in) high.明 青白玉浮雕仿古紋鋪首耳尊Provenance: Dunt King, Hong Kong, November 1956Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, 13 November 1956R.H.R Palmer, MC DL (1898-1970), collection no. 187, label 'R.H.R.P 187', and thence by descentBonhams London, 11 June 2003, lot 17來源：香港古董商仁德行，1956年11月倫敦古董商Bluett & Sons Ltd.，1956年11月13日R.H.R. Palmer（1898-1970）舊藏，藏品編號187，收藏標籤「R.H.R.P 187」，並由後人保存倫敦邦瀚斯，2003年6月11日，拍品編號17Reginald Howard Reed Palmer (1898-1970), Chairman of Huntley and Palmer 1948-1963, was educated at Eton. He was Sheriff of Berkshire in 1935 when his address was Hurst Grove, near Reading. He started collecting Chinese works of art when he married in 1924, much helped by his wife, who had an equally good eye, especially for jades, and they went on to build a collection consisting of Ming and Qing porcelains, jade, ivory and lacquer. He was also an active member of the Oriental Ceramic Society and regularly lent his pieces for exhibition. Skilfully carved in low relief with the surface finished to a fine and even sheen, this vase represents the archaistic style that grew in popularity in jade carving during the Ming dynasty. The academic trend known as the 'search for evidence' (kaozheng 考證) movement began in the early 17th century. Although this movement originated in a renewed scholarly interest in ancient texts and inscriptions on archaic bronzes, as literati sought a more empirical approach to understanding their ancient heritage, it led to a greater fascination for decorative designs adopted from ancient bronzes too. The shape of the present lot derives from archaic bronze hu vessels, while the combination of decorative elements, including the taotie masks and animal-head handles, are also taken from archaic bronze motifs. For example, the intertwined dragons are reminiscent of designs found on archaic bronze wares from the Eastern Zhou dynasty, such as a facetted hu and cover, illustrated by J.So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronze from the Arthur M.Sackler Collections, New York, 1995, pl.37. These archaic motifs are juxtaposed with new designs, such as the stylised rendering of the creature with neatly combed and parted hair, to result in a highly original piece that suited the aesthetic and taste for things qi (奇, variably translated as 'original', 'unusual', 'marvellous' or even 'strange' and 'eccentric'). See K.P.Burnett, Dimensions of Originality: Essays on Seventeenth Century Chinese Art Criticism, Hong Kong, 2013. Vases decorated with this design are unusual and no other closely-related example appears to have been published. Compare with a slightly smaller vase of similar hu shape, decorated on the body with a taotie mask, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, vol.7, Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl.19. A creature with similarly rendered hair is found on early Ming lacquerware, as seen on a box attributed to the Yongle reign, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pl.25.