A CHINESE PALE-CELADON JADE 'TWELVE ORNAMENTS' BOX AND COVER

Qing Dynasty, 19th Century

清十九世紀 青白玉雕十二章紋方蓋盒

The top of the cover carved in relief to depict a trigram qian surrounded by two confronting chilong dragons and four mythical beasts, the sides decorated with the Twelve Ornaments, all carved from a stone of pale celadon tone with some russet veining and a splash of grey,

9.5cm long, 4.5cm high

(2)

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PROVENANCE:

Formerly in the collection of a banker who lived in China during the 1920s, before being gifted in the 1960s to the aunt of the present owner, his live-in nurse, from his house in Holland Park, London, thence by descent.

來源：

一位1920年代曾居於中國的銀行家舊藏，後來於1960年代贈送給現藏家為其倫敦荷蘭公園住宅居家護理員的阿姨，此後家族承傳。

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NOTE:

The central character is flanked by a pair of long dragons, forming the traditional pun for the Qianlong Emperor. The "Twelve Imperial Symbols' include the sun, moon, star constellation, mountain, dragon, pheasant, goblet, pond weed, fire, grains, axe-head, and the ya character. They are symbolic of the virtues required of a ruler, and were used only among the ruling class, with the number of emblems indicating the rank. The Emperor had the exclusive right to include the complete set of twelve symbols embroidered on robes.

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REFERENCE:

A comparable box and cover, dated to the 19th century, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st June 2015, lot 725.

Related spinach-green jade boxes and covers, generally from the 18th century, have also been offered several times at auction. See an 18th-19th century box and cover sold at Christie's Paris, 12th December 2018, lot 134, and another in London, 5th November 2013, lot 69. See an example of a square spinach-green jade box and cover similarly decorated with the Twelve Ornaments in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in 'The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadeware III', Hong Kong, 2000, p.225, pl. 184.

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