A rare and fine very pale green jade 'chilong' brushwasher


18th centuryThe attractive stone of even tone and smoothly carved as a bowl with slightly flaring rim and a shallow recessed base, the plain sides contrasting with a crisp high-relief carved chilong curling its body inside the central well and entwined with leafy tendrils. 11.6cm (4½in) diam.
|十八世紀 青玉雕螭龍穿花洗Provenance: Baron Fould-Springer, Royaumont Abbatial Palace, FranceS. Marchant & Son, LondonA distinguished English private collection來源：法國皇宮Royaumont Abbatial Palace的Fould-Springer男爵舊藏倫敦古董商S. Marchant & Son英國顯赫私人收藏The style and quality of the present lot embodies much of the celebrated 18th century jade production under the Qianlong emperor. The remarkable even tone of the stone was admired by the master carver who chose to highlight its quality by retaining plain undecorated sides. This was cleverly contrasted with the high-relief carving to the interior well, showcasing the carver's virtuosity and creativity with the interwoven layers of leaves above and around the dragon.The raised relief decoration at the centre was not merely decorative but also utilitarian allowing the brush to be cleaned against the dragon carving. Compare with a similar chilong brushwasher, Qing dynasty, illustrated in Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series:Jades, Beijing, 1999, pl.248, p.206. Compare also with the form of another white jade 'double fish' brushwasher, 18th century, illustrated by J.C.S.Lin, The Immortal Stone: Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Twentieth Century, Cambridge, 2009, no.103, p.124. A further related example, 18th century, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2014, lot 3657. A related dish with similarly crisp treatment of the relief carving, but with shallower sides of lobed petal-form, is illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 10: Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.183. See also a similar bowl or brush washer with a double fish medallion in the well, illustrated by R.Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, p.124., no.103.Compare also with a related very pale greenish-white jade 'dragon' washer, Qianlong/ Jiaqing, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2017, lot 9.青玉質，圓唇，外侈，斜腹，洗底內收而成圈足，內底起地浮雕穿花螭龍紋，螭龍口銜連枝牡丹，牡丹花葉纏繞龍身而成團花圖案。此件玉洗壁頗厚，用料頗耗。乾隆十全武功之首的平定准格爾之役，「拓地兩萬余里」，和田歸入版圖，玉料源源不斷輸入中原，此洗應是作於此役之後。北京藝術博物館藏一件清代螭龍紋洗可資參考，見《北京文物精粹大系玉器卷》，北京，1999年，圖版248，頁206；此洗形制還可參考一件十八世紀白玉吉慶有餘筆洗，見J.C.S.Lin著，《The Immortal Stone: Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Twentieth Century》，劍橋，2009年，編號103，頁124。香港蘇富比2014年10月8日曾售出一件十八世紀青玉螭龍洗，頗似，可比較之，拍品編號3657。北京故宮博物院藏有一件類似工藝的青玉葵花式雙蝠菊花紋盤，亦是盤心浮雕花卉，可作比較，見《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編10》，北京，2011年，編號183。另見類似一例雙魚洗，著錄於康蕊君，《Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman》，香港，1996年，頁124，編號103。香港邦瀚斯曾售出一件類似的清乾隆/嘉慶青玉雕龍紋洗，其裝飾手法類似，2017年11月28日，拍品編號9。