A GREEN JADE 'QINGSHUI WAN' BOWL QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

based on a Tibetan prototype, the shallow rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to a flared rim, carved around the exterior with the character aum, repeated six times, the deeply carved script showing through inside the bowl and further filled-in with gold, the dark-sage green stone with darker speckling and inclusions, on a later associated hardwood and boxwood stand carved in the form of a petalled lotus flower

Christie's London, 15th June 1998, lot 270.

The overall condition is very good with the exception of some light pitting to small patches in the stone. The gold filled inside the 'aum' characters is lightly worn.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bowls of this type are known in Chinese as qingshui wan or 'clear water bowl' and were typically used by Tibetan Buddhist lamas and priests during the Butter Lamp Festival that commemorates the death of Tsong Khapa, founder of the Gelugpa order. During the festival, yak butter lamps are burnt and clear water bowls are placed in temples and houses. These bowls were also used for drinking buttered milk tea, a favourite beverage of the Tibetan nobility as well as the general population. For example, see a slightly taller jade bowl of similar diameter included in the exhibition Treasures of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2001, cat. no. 104, together with a gold stand and lid, from the Tibet Museum, Lhasa.

The Qianlong emperor was an ardent follower of Tibetan Buddhism and is known to have commissioned the making of large quantities of ritual objects for the temples and shrines in the capital as well as gifts for the visiting Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy. Amongst jade, he especially favoured spinach-green  nephrite for its rich deep tone. Cao Zhao in Gegu yaolun (The Essential Criteria of Antiquities), published in 1388, already mentions dark-green jade (bi yu) as one of the valued colour types for jade. For further examples of Imperial bowls see one with a Qianlong nianzhi mark published in Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 6, Shijiazhuang, 1993, pls. 49-50, together with another bowl bearing a Qianlong yuyong mark indicating that the vessel was made for the emperor's personal use, pls. 51-52.

For examples of tribute Buddhist articles see an alms bowl carved in spinach-green nephrite and inscribed with the sutra in gilt illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 117, from the Qing Court collection, together with a white jade alms bowl finely carved with images of seven Buddhas, pl. 118.