£25,200
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art | 733
Auction: 16 May 2023 at 11:00 BST
清乾隆 青玉帶皮雕五龍趕珠水波雲紋大筆洗
of compressed ovoid form, rising from a flat base to wide shoulders and an inverted rim, exquisitely carved in high relief with five dragons pursuing a flaming pearl amongst dense spiralling clouds, where parts of their body disappear into, all above rockwork and crashing waves, the base further carved with a whirlpool, the stone of beige-celadon colour variegated with russet and brown
Provenance: Private French collection; formerly in the collection of French Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962) (by repute)
Note: Two closely comparable Qing dynasty jade washers, similar in the design of dragons chasing a flaming pearl, one of pale celadon jade and the other of spinach-green with russet skin jade, are in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, museum nos. Gu yu 故玉 2963 and 8817. Two further similar examples, one with highly similar colour of the jade and the size, dated to the early Qing dynasty, was from the Metropolitan Museum of Art- The Florence and Herbert Irving Gift and sold at Sotheby's New York, 10 September 2019, lot 25; the other of spinach-green jade and slightly larger in size, was sold at Christie's New York, 13 Sep 2019, lot 937.