Adam's FINE ASIAN ART 28th,29th,30th Preview June 2022

28 A MUGHAL-STYLE JADE MARRIAGE BOWL OR CUP WITH LOOSE RING HANDLES CHINA, QING DYNASTY The bowl is thinly carved with fluted sides in the shape of a chrysanthemum. The foot is similarly carved as a downturned floral bloom. It is flanked by two handles shaped as bats together with loose rings. The jade stone has been very finely carved so it has a semi-translu- cent or diaphanous aspect. H: 3,9 cm - L: 17,8 cm Weight: 200 grams Note: 1. Large shallow bowls with two loose-ring handles carved from white or very pale green jade, such as the present lot, were deemed very suitable as prestigious gifts at a wedding, hence their typical desig- nation as ‘marriage bowls’. Many feature pairs of butterflies, bats or mythical beasts as the handles, the depiction of the animals or insects in pairs being suggestive of happy union. Bats in particular were a popular motif to celebrate a happy occasion such as a wedding, since the character for bat ( 蝠 - fu), is a pun for wealth and happiness (i.e. 富 - fu and 福 - fu). 2. Jades carved in this florid style originated in Hindustan in the Mughal period and began to come to China around the middle of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign. The first carved jade bowl to have been sent from Central Asia as tribute is recorded for AD 1756, and thereafter tribute gifts of this type continued to arrive throughout the Emperor¡’s reign and beyond. At the same time Moslem jade carvers were brought to work in the Palace Workshops to fashion similar wares and as early as 1764, exact copies of Indian jades held at the palace were ordered from the Chinese craftsmen working at the court. €2,000 - €4,000 PROPERTIES FROM A NOTED COLLECTOR OF JADES & SNUFFBOTTLES