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9. An Imperial Mottled Grey Jade Bowl
Engraved and gilt four-character Qianlong yuzhi mark and of the period (1736–95)
The bowl very thinly carved with deep rounded sides rising to a slightly flaring rim, and standing on a low, slightly recessed circular foot. Made from softly polished, glassy material, with attractive horizontal charcoal and pale-grey mottling throughout.
13.7 cm. (5 1/2 in.) diameter.
Provenance:
Mrs. H. F. Bain
Sotheby’s Los Angeles, 6 March 1980, lot 1033
Simone and Alan Hartman Colletion Part I, Christie’s Hong Kong,
28 November 2006, lot 1391
The material of this bowl, its shape, polish and the unusual foot all show characteristics of pieces made in central Asia, to the west of Khotan where an abundance of jade was found. The people from this area have a long history of making jade items, and both the local and Chinese records show that as early as the 15th century jade pieces were being made for its ruling class. A bowl of very similar shape and material but with no mark and some added gilt decoration and additional parallel grooves near the rim is in the Palace Museum, Taipei (14). In the same collection is a jade ewer (15), which was originally of celadon colour but intentionally dyed grey, showing that grey jade was especially esteemed by the people of Central Asia.
The fact that this bowl bears the four-character mark ‘Qianlong yuzhi’ – made by the command of the Qianlong Emperor – indicates that it was commissioned after the success of the 1759 campaign when Central Asia became part of the Qing Empire. The unusual diamond tipped tool engraved mark with its atypical calligraphy is not seen on other jades, but found on two agate bowls in the Beijing Palace Museum, previously from the court collection (16). The similarity of the characters qian, long and zhi on all three pieces indicate that these marks would have been done by the same hand.
The significance of the yuzhi mark is explained by Hugh Moss (17):
“marks which use the form yuzhi literally ‘imperially made’… (are) usually translated as ‘by imperial command’ of a particular emperor. These indicate that the pieces were made at the specific command of an emperor, nearly always in court workshops, be they in the palace or elsewhere….. This meant that the Emperor had a special interest in their production and monitored it more closely than was the case with other wares, although it did not imply that all the pieces were made solely for his own use."
The appearance of an undeniably imperial mark on a piece of seemingly central Asian origin raises questions which give this piece a unique historical significance. Were central Asian craftsmen brought to the palace workshops to teach their skills to Chinese craftsmen? Was this commission related to the Emperor’s marriage to the Uighar Princess, later known as Rong fei, in 1760?
Or was it made simply to recall the Emperor’s great victory?
In the absence of further documentation, these problems may never be solved. However, looking at the mysterious swirling striations of the bowl, which so resemble the ‘dream-stones’ beloved by the Chinese scholar, it is easy to forget these questions and simply be lost in aesthetic reverie.
14 included by Teng Shu-p’ing in the exhibition catalogue Exquisite Beauty - Islamic Jade, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2007, p. 34, no. 10
15 Ibid: p. 47, no. 37
16 illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 57 - Treasures of Imperial Court, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2004, p. 228?31, nos. 204 and 205
17 Tsang, Gerard and Moss. Hugh ‘Art From the Scholars Studio’, Hong Kong 1986.
Next: (10) A Pale Celadon Jade Rococo-Style Vase and Cover
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