A rare spinach-green jade archaistic baluster vase, hu


Incised Jiaqing fanggu six-character mark and of the periodThe striking vase inspired by the archaic bronze hu, the compressed body superbly and precisely carved in relief around the central band with taotie masks between bands of cicada-shaped lappets around the waisted neck and above the flared foot, the neck flanked by a pair of stylised kui-dragon openwork handles, the recessed base incised with the six-character kaishu mark, the stone of rich spinach-green tone with darker and lighter markings. 27.3cm (10 3/4in) high.
|清嘉慶 碧玉饕餮紋螭耳壺 「大清嘉慶仿古」刻款Provenance: Stanley Charles Nott, St. James's, London, in 1946 or 1947An English private collection, acquired from the aboveMarchant, LondonExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition: Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, no.90來源：倫敦聖詹姆斯區史坦萊·查理斯·諾頓舊藏英國私人收藏，於1946或1947年購自上藏家倫敦Marchant展覽、出版及著錄：Marchant，《玉器九十，90週年特展》，倫敦，2015年，編號90The form and decoration on the present jade vase are in direct continuation of the taste for archaistic forms and designs strongly advocated by the Qianlong emperor. Aiming to 'restore the ancient ways', the Qianlong emperor wished to reinstate the intrinsic qualities of simplicity, sincerity and happy exuberance of the ancient cultures. For this purpose, he instructed the court to collect drawings of antiquities, such as the 'Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities' (Xi Qing Gu Jian 西清古鑑), which served as sources of designs for the production of contemporary vessels; 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. The form and decoration of the present vase combined with the use of the fanggu mark, meaning 'imitating antiquity', previously used during the Qianlong reign on archaistic jade vessels, draws a direct link between the two reigns and can be construed as homage by the Jiaqing emperor to his father. The similarity in form and style of carving indicates the present vase was made early in the Jiaqing reign and possibly in the same jade ateliers producing vessels for the Qianlong emperor. Compare with a related spinach-green jade vase, hu, da Qing Jiaqing nianzhi mark and period, carved around the central register with taotie masks, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 10 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2010, pl.20; see also a square spinach-green jade square archaistic vase and cover, Jiaqing fanggu mark and period, from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl.150; compare also a spinach-green jade square archaistic vase and cover, Qianlong fanggu mark and period, similarly carved with a taotie mask central register between cicada-blades bands and with kui dragon handles, illustrated in The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, London, 2013, pl.25A related but larger spinach-green jade archaistic vase, hu, Qianlong mark and period, with loop handles, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3374.碧玉玉質，有深色及淺色斑。無蓋，橢圓口，頸微收，頸兩側作螭龍耳，鼓腹，斂腰，橢圓圈足。頸部飾蟬紋，腹部飾獸面紋，近足處飾蟬紋一周，足底內心陰刻「大清嘉慶仿古」六字隸書書款。乾隆至嘉慶初期，為宮廷玉器生產之高峰，此期間宮廷藏玉品種俱全、用料講究、工藝精湛，為後朝所不能及。此件碧玉壺為嘉慶時期宮廷陳設用玉，其紋飾沿襲乾隆皇帝慕古敏求之風，形制或參照《西清古鑑》仿製青銅壺而來，其雕工亦與前朝相比不分伯仲，極有可能為嘉慶早期作品，亦為嘉慶皇帝在審美及藝術情趣上追慕其父皇的實證。對比北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件「大清嘉慶年製」款碧玉獸面紋仿古壺，其獸面紋與本瓶類似，著錄於《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編10》，北京，2010年，圖20。另見清宮舊藏一件碧玉仿古方壺，同樣刻「大清嘉慶仿古」款，著錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：玉器（下）》，香港，1995年，圖150；乾隆一朝類似之例，見《The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade》，倫敦，2013年，圖版25。佳士得香港曾售出一件清乾隆碧玉雕仿古壺，可資參考，2016年11月30日，拍品3374。