Property from the Collection of Colonel Tom HallA pale celadon jade 'marriage' bowlQing dynasty, Qianlong periodLength 21 cm, 8¼ in.__________________________________________________________________________Collection du Colonel Tom Hall (1928-2022) Coupe de mariage en jade céladon pale, dynastie Qing, époque Qianlong__________________________________________________________________________Tom Hall上校 (1928-2022) 珍藏 清乾隆 青白玉雕如意雙喜紋祥蝠耳活環洗来源: John Sparks Ltd., London (label). Collection Harold Wesley Hall (1888-1974), label no. 20, thence in the family by descent.__________________________________________________________________________倫敦斯賓克（標籤）Harold Wesley Hall（1888 - 1974）珍藏，編號20（標籤），此後家族傳承专文: This elegant jade marriage bowl represents one of the key characteristics of Qing jade carving. It embodies the twin elements of flawless craftsmanship, evident in the quality of the finish, and ingenious design demonstrated by the clever combination of symbols. The double 'xi' character (homonymic to happiness), the endless knot (binding), the musical stone, qing (celebration), and the handles in form of bats (fortune) are auspicious symbols signifying marriage bliss, celebrating the good fortune and happiness of being bound together making this bowl a most suitable marriage gift for young couples. The carving quality of the bowl is exceptional. Although twin handles with freely moving rings are a common feature in such marriage bowl, the deep carving and openwork seen here create a three-dimensional effect that is particularly pleasing.Compare a similar white jade marriage bowl with flat bat handles, illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 67, later sold at Christie`s Hong Kong, 27th November 2007, lot 1539 and again on 27th November 2019, lot 3081; a similar white and russet jade marriage bowl from the Collection of Sir John Woolf, is illustrated in The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, London, 2013, pl. 63; another similar example but of smaller size was sold at Christie`s New York, 23rd March 2012, lot 1885; a related example, also of smaller size, carved with a shou instead of the double xi character, is illustrated in Tianjin Bowuguan cang yu/Jade Wares Collected by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012 pl. 189; and an example with lotus-shape handles is illustrated in Kleiner, op.cit., pl. 105.__________________________________________________________________________本品造型優雅端莊，彰顯清代玉雕一大特色，巧妙結合了一絲不苟的雕工和寓意豐富的吉祥圖案。俯視此洗，口沿刻有一磬，磬下伸出盤長結，搭在另一邊的洗沿，結中有一鏤空雙喜字樣，兩側有蝙蝠形耳，意祝連理之美，適用於婚嫁饋贈。本品雕工細膩嫻熟，此類玉洗常帶活環雙耳，但深腹器形搭配鏤空紋飾，營造出別緻的立體感，尤其悅目。一白玉活環蝙蝠耳洗與本品相類，圖載於Robert Kleiner，《Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman》，香港，1996年，圖版67，售於香港佳士得2007年11月27日，編號1539，再售於香港佳士得2019年11月27日，編號3081；另一近例為白玉帶紅褐沁，出自伍夫爵士（Sir John Woolf）舊藏，圖載於《The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade》，倫敦，2013年，圖版63；再比一例，惟尺寸較小，售於紐約佳士得2012年3月23日，編號1885；另有一相關例子，尺寸亦較小，鏤空雙喜換作「壽」字，圖載於《天津博物館藏玉》，北京，2012年，圖版189；再比一例，兩側以蓮花為耳，圖載於Robert Kleiner，前述出處，圖版105。