A SPINACH JADE 'PHOENIX AND PLUM TREE' DOUBLE VASE 18th/19th century (2)A SPINACH JADE 'PHOENIX AND PLUM TREE' DOUBLE VASE18th/19th centuryFormed as two gnarled trunks, carved in openwork relief with a phoenix perched on a pine branch amongst blossoming prunus, a large open lingzhi fungus surrounded by fruiting lingzhi branches to one side, carved wood stand.The jade: 16.5cm (6 1/2in) high (2).Provenance:Joseph Vallot (1854-1925), Drouot, ParisMessrs Lair-Dubreuil and Portier, 16-18 November 1925Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953)O. Ramos Oromi y Cia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 27-29 July 1936, lot 277Joseph Vallot (1854-1925) was a French astronomer, geographer, naturalist, alpinist and patron of arts and sciences. In 1875 he created a Salon Chinois at the observatory, Refuge Vallot, he built on Mont Blanc in the Alps.Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953) was the President of the banking house of Ernesto Tornquist Co., Ltd., he played a crucial role in helping to avoid a war between Argentina and Chile in 1902 and maintained a close friendship with Argentina Presidents Julio A. Roca (1843-1914) and Carlos Pellegrini (1846-1906).