Live Auction 18823Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
A RARE LARGE AND FINELY CARVED SPINACH-GREEN JADE MARRIAGE BOWL
Lot 1779 THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

A RARE LARGE AND FINELY CARVED SPINACH-GREEN JADE MARRIAGE BOWL

QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Closed25 September 2020

Price Realised

USD 100,000

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A RARE LARGE AND FINELY CARVED SPINACH-GREEN JADE MARRIAGE BOWL
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The marriage bowl is thick-walled and of strong proportions, and is carved on the exterior with the bajixiang interrupted by a pair of butterfly handles on either side, their leafy wings outstretched and joining a wide reticulated network of interlocked leafy scroll. The interior is well carved in deep relief with two fruiting peach branches, a sprig of narcissus and small clusters of lingzhi and bamboo, the whole raised on five small lobed feet.
12 ¼ in. (31.1 cm.) wide across handles

Alan and Simone Hartman Collection, 1986.
Property from a private collection; Christie's New York, 26 March 2010, lot 1140.

Specialist note


Buddhism was the state religion of the Qing dynasty, and the Qianlong Emperor was a devout practitioner of the faith. His powerful devotion to Buddhism carried over into works of art made during his reign. Jades, ceramics, textiles, bronzes and other items frequently incorporated Buddhist subject matter and symbolism.

The current marriage bowl features the bajixiang, the Eight Auspicious Buddhist Emblems, perhaps the most readily identifiable of the symbols found in Buddhist iconography. The bajixiang represent the offerings made to the Buddha Shakyamuni by the gods immediately after his enlightenment. These emblems can be briefly translated as follows: The Wheel of Law (falun), the inexorable expansion of the Buddha's teaching; the Conch Shell (luo), majesty, the voice of the Buddha; the Umbrella (san), spiritual authority, reverence; the Canopy (gai), royal grace; the Lotus (hua), purity; the Vase (ping), eternal harmony, vessel of the nectar of immortality; the Paired Fish (shuangyu), conjugal happiness, fertility, protection, spiritual liberation; and the Endless Knot (chang), eternity.

Compare another eighteenth century spinach-green jade marriage bowl of smaller size (30 cm. wide across handles) carved with catfish, lotus and chrysanthemum, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2009, lot 1839.