Coupe en jade céladon Dynastie Qing, XVIIIE siècle

de forme cylindrique, dressée sur une base à trois pieds en forme de têtes animales, assortie d'une anse circulaire, le pourtour finement sculpté d'un chilong et d'un phénix stylisés parmi un réseau de motifs géométriques, le bord souligné d'une frise de grecques, la pierre d'une belle couleur céladon au doux poli

Acquired in China between 1894 and 1922.
Thence in the family by descent.

The cup is in overall very good condition. There are tiny fritts to the inside rim on one of the three feet and a ca. 1,5cm long hairline/flaw to the stone on the rim and extending down into the side where the handle joins the body. The jade is of a more celadon green tone than the catalogue illustration suggests.
"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."

Discoveries of ancient tombs abound throughout Chinese history. Archaic bronzes and jades that were accidentally unearthed began to attract attention of the learned elite. As early as the Song dynasty, they were collected and often found their ways into private and Imperial collections. At the same time, craftsmen began to look at these antiquities and used forms and designs often in adapted forms for their own pieces. Such is the case with the present jade cup with its elegant ring-shaped handle with delicate thumb-rest which was clearly inspired by a Han prototype, such as an example found at Shizishan and now in the Xuzhou Museum, Jiangsu province, included in the exhibition The Search for Immortality. Tomb Treasures of Han China, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 2012, cat. no. 58. 

A very similar jade cup dated between the Song to Ming periods with a similar ring-handle from the Wilfried Fleisher Collection, Stockholm, is illustrated in Giuseppe Eskenazi, Chinese Art from the Reach Family Collection, London, 1989, cat. no. 5, where it is noted that jade cups of this type are rare. A related cup and cover, dated to the Ming dynasty, formerly in the Qing Court collection, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (II), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 185; another example in the Avery Brundage Collection and now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, is published in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, pl. L; a third, with a mark by Lu Zigang, from the collection of Mr and Mrs Richard C. Bull, was included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1975, cat. no. 385, together with an earlier version, ibid., cat. no. 322.