Adam's FINE ASIAN ART Part I 28th & Part II 29th June 2022

28 9 PROPERTIES FROM A NOTED COLLECTION OF JADES AND SNUFFBOTTLES *A RARE JADE ‘LOTUS’ VESSEL CHINA, QING DYNASTY Carved out of a single piece of pale celadon jade accented with russet highlights. It is shaped as a lotus vessel adorned with naturalistic pods, flowers, curled leaves and other tendrils rising from the waves, two flying swallows encircling the upper portion. H (stand excluded): 20 cm Weight: 623 grams Provenance (by repute): - the private collection; - from the estate of Mr. Wan Ken Wong c. 2001; - Mrs. H. Small, North Carolina USA, acquired from the above. Notes: 1. This present jade vessel has added russet highlights to evoke the appearance of natural skin from the outside of a jade pebble or boulder, a rare and desirable feature for antique jade collectors. 2. The lotus grows out of the mud unsullied moving upwards towards the light. This symbolically represents the pursuit of enlightenment. 3. The swallow is a bird known as the symbol of spring and they herald good fortune and a prosperous change for the better. 4. The Chinese word for lotus is ‘lianhua’ ( 莲花 ). Lian is also the pronunciation of the word for continuous ( 连 ) and he is also the pronunciation for the word harmony ( 和 ) so the lotus has the hidden meaning of ‘continuous harmony’. 5. For a published example of a similar lotus vessel, see the front cover as well as page 76 of Bartholomew and He’s ‘The Tata Collection of Chinese Antiquities in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya’ (formerly the Prince of Wales’s Museum). 6. A smaller but similar celadon and russet lotus vessel was sold in SOTHEBY’S Paris, France, 2010-12-16, lot 191, for €36,750. IMPORTANT NOTICE: *This lot is under temporary importation. An extra VAT will be applied to the final invoice. The rate will depend on the final country of destination. The sole buyers based in Ireland will be subject to an extra 13,5% VAT. Please contact our office (yuchen@adams.ie ) for further information. *珍稀莲纹玉 中国，清代 € 15,000 - 30,000