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I just picked up this ~celadon jade chilong and bamboo carving. It has a four character Qianlong mark on the base and a gold gilt inscription of a bamboo poem titled "嚴鄭公宅同詠竹".
It also appears to say "Imperial Inscription of the Qianlong Emperor" in the last column.
Can anyone help determine if this is indeed imperial, and possible value?
Thanks!
Where did you buy this from?
Mark
I asked because this brush pot is not from the imperial jade work shop. It's much much later.
The quality isn't there for imperial carving. It's either later 19th Century or as I suspect new one. The images you have sent are low pixel
These are being sold in Atlanta USA auction houses. Peter often talk about these auctions including Lauren gallery auctions also in Atlanta.
It could nephrite jade or serpentine. You would need to perform some tests.
If this is something that you are looking at buying then I would definitely steer clear of it as it's definitely not imperial jade carving.
Mark
Someone here remarked a while ago that dubious pieces are often pictured with white gloves to make them look more valuable. Though I know nothing about jade and cannot jugde this piece the white gloves made me smile. If it's already yours, Brian, and it's your gloved fingers on the pictures I apologize.
Birgit
@imperialfinegems I bought this from a private collection in NY. The seller had several other pieces of archaic jade, qing jade, some rare chinese silver, amber pieces, etc. They also had a rare Qianlong sword (I don't know much about weapons though):
Unsure about the photos with the white gloves (I was also confused by this). They appear to use them for all the jade they handle. They had this particular piece listed as "Hotan" jade.
@shinigami I assumed the seller was trying to convey this was valuable with the white gloves, but I made sure I didn't pay too much in case it wasn't authentic ($700). I don't think the seller was very knowledgable with jade based on how they priced certain items. I don't have the piece in hand yet, but very curious to run my own tests when it arrives to test if it's indeed jade. If it is, I may send it out to GIA to get a report.
I also verified each character in the poem last night after making this thread, and those match up 100%. (I've seen other pieces that the forgers mess this up) The insiced Qianlong seal marks also seem to match up precisely with other jade examples I've found at Christies/Sothebys/Bonhams. This will definitely be an interesting one to research. It was worth the gamble for me, and I can return it if it's not genuine jade/nephrite.
I think that was me, Birgit. 😊 In fact, the other day I told my daughter to never buy anything old or precious on ebay if the item is being held in a gloved hand. 😆 I am sure there are some genuine sellers who do this, but generally it is a red flag for me.
Makes me laugh, too! 😉
@imperialfinegems What're your concerns with it, and why do you think it's not imperial? I believe this was intended to be a vase rather than a brush pot. The seller also has what appears to be a lid for it (more white gloves 😆 ):
OK the carving is not up to the standards of the imperial workshop. Far from it.
The carving is new but nicely done with the calligraphy which looks brand new btw for Qianlong period.
You are not going to be buying imperial work shop carvings for $700....especially when this seller has numerous other items for sale.
If you have doubts send pictures to Sotheby's, Christies or Bonham's.
Hotan jade is a specific type of jade found in a certain region and is highly desirable.
Mark
That sword is not Qianlong period either.
Just for your thoughts and information. A imperial workshop carving similar to this if genuine would be in excess of $120,000 usd. And certainly not $700. Especially since this seller has other items for sale. This is very suspicious and not forgetting the gloves.
If it is actually nephrite jade and not serpentine then the price of $700 being for a nicely carved copy is OK. Not expensive imo. However if it is serpentine then it's worth around $100.
It was comon actually around the end of the Guangxu @1900 that a lot of carvers were making similar pieces with gilt calligraphy. However I strongly believe that your one is more recent.
The gilt looks new. The gilt should have even slight wear and should be duller in colour if that makes sense to you. The quality of the dragon or Chilong are poorly to average quality in carving.
Mark
@imperialfinegems Thanks for the feedback. I agree the gloves are no doubt suspicious. My guess is that the seller doesn't know much about jade, and certainly doesn't know how to price it. They have several grossly mispriced listings.
As for the gold gilt - this was my initial concern as well. I found several period examples of gilt that has very little wear that's similar to the level on this piece. This still remains a concern until I can handle the piece in person:
Gold Gilt period examples:
- A magnificent and important gilt inscribed jade boulder - Qianlong
- A large spinach green jade luohans screen - Qianlong
- A rare and fine spinach green jade table screen
- Qianlong Poetry inscribed white jade table screens
- 18th Century spinach jade snuff bottle with inscription
- Imperial gilt-inscribed pale celadon jade table screen - Qianlong
- A rare pair of imperial white and green jade table screens - Qianlong
- An exceptionally rare gilt-painted jade book - Qianlong
- Imperially inscribed gilt pale celadon jade table screen - Qianlong
Regarding the Chilong - I tend to agree with your point here. The beast doesn't have the same level of detailing as most of the extremely expensive examples I've found during my initial research.
Similar Chilong period carvings:
- A rare yellow jade chilong vase - Qianlong
- A pale jade chilong brush washer
- Chilong washer – 18th century
- A white jade chilong double vase
- Chinese jade vase with Chilongs
It is quite curious as to why Qianlong would mark this particular piece considering it is not extremely detailed like other period examples. One guess I have might be the way the poem is interprited? The poem speaks about the bamboo casting a shadow over a wine jar, and making the room feel 'dim' - possibly making details such as the Chilong less visible?
Here is a rough transaltion of the poem below:
The tender green bamboo is still half covered with bamboo shoots, and the newly grown branches have just stretched out of the wall. The shadow of the green bamboo is cast on the book, making people feel that the light is dim. The shadow of the bamboo moving over the wine jar also feels cool.
The bamboo is beautiful and clean after being washed by rain, and a faint fragrance can be smelled when the breeze blows. As long as it is not destroyed, I will definitely see it grow to a height that touches the clouds.
Yes you can clearly see the difference between imperial carvers and non imperial.
It's important to realise that a lot of say 18th and 19th Century carving that were not imperial had later inscription made on them. This is unfortunate very common.
Here is a boulder that I currently own with Qianlong imperial marks but it's a later 19th Century attribute.
Note the wear on the gilt and how the shine has gone.
Just for your information. This boulder is natural nephrite. Dark olive green and even though it is not imperial it still has a value of around $3000 usd.
Mark
If this is actually real nephrite and not serpentine then the colour is very nice. With a even hue throughout the stone.
But you would need to confirm that it's jade first.
Mark
@imperialfinegems Thanks for the pictures - nice pieces! Yes, I do see the gilt wear, especially on the larger seals like yours has. There are a few notable examples on the links I provided above with smaller inscriptions that show very little to no wear on the gilt. I have a couple of hetian jade pieces in my collection as well, so I'll have something to compare against when the piece arrives 🙂
I've been researching the Imperial workshops of Qianlongs reign, and apparently due to an abundance of good quality jade, this permitted 'flexible selection of colours, tones, and textures'. Qianlong was also known for assimilating jade carvings to paintings. "Qianlong esteemed the picturesque quality of the jade, calling it ‘mood of painting’ (huayi 畫意)".
In the essence of Qianlong's vision for the jade carvings of the time, I would say there's a possibility this may be authentic for a couple of reasons:
- You mentioned the colour is very nice and has an even hue throughout the stone. I agree - assuming it's real nephrite, it would make sense for a piece of jade with such even color/tone to be chosen for an imperial inscription. I also haven't seen many imperial jade examples with this even hue quality during my research.
- Secondly, the poem literally translated says "The color of the bamboo is infiltrating the bookcase in the evening, and the shade is over the wine bottle.".
- The even color of this piece makes sense to use since it's a key focus in the poem. The bamboo color palette would be more in line with the hue of this piece, and the use of the prized white jade wouldn't make sense from this aspect.
- The mention of 'shade' in the poem is also a key focus point. Arguably the primary focus, intended to give the sense of 'dimness' that the bamboo is emitting. Accompanied with the thought-provoking praise of bamboos' potential of growing into the clouds, his mention and feeling of 'shade' & 'dimness' would make less fine details less visible in such an environment. This might explain the somewhat simple detailing of the piece from an artistic perspective.
Considering Qianlong's evident push for creativity, and assimilating jade carvings to paintings, the overall essence of this piece makes sense for me (assuming the other details such as the gilt and type of stone check out). I'm looking forward to handling it in person. Thanks for your input and feedback 🙂
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