A RARE JADE 'PHOENIX' WINE POT AND COVER China, Qing Dynasty, 18th or 19th century Carved in a desirable stone. Shaped as a phoenix standing on its feet, the spout carved as the head, the neck with a loose ring, the handle carved as the tail whose feathers described a circle and continue between the feet up to the front part, the sides carved with the wings, the lid topped by a finial shaped as a phoenix, the inner part masterfully hollowed. Sweet and delicate polish. H: 18 cm - L: 17 cm - w: 4,5 cm Weight: 1050 grams Provenance: > Private collection; > Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953), O. Ramos Oromi y Cia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 27th, 28th and 29th 1936, lot 284; > Joseph Vallot (1854-1925), Drouot, Paris, Messrs Lair-Dubreuil and Portier, November 16th, 17th, 18th 1925. Notes: 1. The use of birds' heads to provide the shape of the spout on pouring vessels has a long history in China. Not only do they appear on bronze vessels, they can also be seen among ceramic wares. Chickens' heads, for example, provide the spout form on a number of Jin dynasty (AD 265-420) ewers with both celadon and black glazes (see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum 31 Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 42, no. 37 and p. 52, no. 47, respectively). The theme of the phoenix to provide inspiration for shape and decoration can be seen in various media in succeeding dynasties, but interestingly the current jade teapot is especially close in concept to the famous Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) blue and white porcelain ewer excavated from the Yuan capital Dadu in 1970. A jade teapot or wine pot with phoenix-head spout, now in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was loaned by the Chinese Government to the 1935-6 International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy, London (see International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935, p. 255, no. 2828) 2. Compare with an imperial phoenix white jade and cover wine pot offered at Christie's London, 2008/11/04, lot 9. 3. Carlos Alfredo Tornquist Altgelt (1885-1953) was the President of the banking house of Ernesto Tornquist Co., Ltd., and a member of a prominent Argentinian family. A person of influence, he is also known to have played a crucial role in helping to avoid a war between Argentina and Chile in 1902 by managing the British mediation in the border dispute. Throughout the years, he maintained a close friendship with Argentina Presidents Julio A. Roca (1843-1914) and Carlos Pellegrini (1846-1906). 4. Joseph Vallot (1854-1925) was a French astronomer, geographer, naturalist, alpinist and patron of arts and sciences, who studied botanic and geology in Paris and later became the President of the Club Alpin Français. In 1875, he fell in love with Mont Blanc and later on built up the first observatory there called Refuge Vallot where he did install a Salon Chinois which received famous visitors including Pope Pius XI. His large collection of Chinese jades was sold at Drouot in 1925 as a signature / single collection / Estate Sale. 珍稀玉“凤凰”酒壶及盖 中国，清朝，18或19世纪