清乾隆 白玉饕餮紋觚式花插QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)清乾隆 白玉饕餮紋觚式花插8 3/4 in. (22.3 cm.) highThe present vase follows the archaic bronze prototype, gu, a type of wine vessel used in the rituals of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. By the Qing period, archaic forms and motifs found great popularity at court and a number of jades vessels, such as the present example, were produced to reflect the fashion of the period.As a result, archaic bronze gu were very popular as flower vases. This tradition carried on until the Qing dynasty, to the extent that jade gu were also often made to be used primarily as flower vases. However, the wide mouth rim of these vases can be impractical if one is only putting two or three branches in the vase, as is often the case with flower arrangements in a scholar’s studio. The gu-form vase depicted in Portrait of Emperor Qianlong in Ancient Costume, for example, is made with an inner mouth rim (or fitted with an inner lining) that is much smaller than the outer rim, so as to keep the flower branches upright. The jade carver of the present vase resolved this issue by adding an extra flange in the interior thereby reducing the opening of the vase in order to hold flowers better. With its relatively small central aperture, the complexity in carving the vessel would undoubtedly prove a serious challenge to the craftsman, particularly the polishing of the underside and interiors of the vase. Despite the technical difficulties, the lapidary had succeeded in hollowing the vessel evenly and allowing the translucency and colour of the natural stone to be fully appreciated. Another rare white jade gu-form vase also carved with an unusual inner flange was sold at Christie's London, 4 November 2008, lot 13.Details A RARE FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE VASE, GUQIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)The vase is decorated with interlinked stylised taotie masks, below the flared neck with upright leaves in archaistic style, flanked on either side with a mythical beast-head handle, all supported on a short, splayed foot similarly decorated with pendent leaves. The interior of the mouth rim carved with an integral horizontal flange, reserving a central oval aperture. The translucent stone is of a slight celadon tone with areas of opaque inclusions.8 3/4 in. (22.3 cm.) high Provenance A North American family collection Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2009, lot 1995 Conditions of sale