AN EXTREMELY RARE AND SUPERBLY CARVED SPINACH-GREEN JADE CUP INCISED SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG

the translucent stone of a deep fern-green colour accentuated with dark speckles, superbly worked with the uttermost precision and polished with great delicacy in the form of a steep-sided bowl supported on a short straight foot, the sides flanked by a pair of angular scroll handles through which and around which a pair of long-horned chilong are skilfully depicted clambering with their claws resting on the mouthrim of the vessel, their bodies boldly worked extending across the exterior through the handles, the tails intricately defined in lower relief around the body, both beasts detailed with archaistic features and powerful claws, the base intricately incised with a four-character seal mark

An old English collection. 

Apart from minute chips to the foot rim and the extremities, the cup is in good condition.
"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."

Jade vessels inscribed with Yongzheng reign marks, and of the period, are extremely rare. The only published examples from museum collections appear to be a small number preserved in the holdings of the Palace Museum, Beijing. No other Yongzheng reign-marked jade vessel has been sold at auction or is recorded in any private collection.

The Palace Museum, Beijing has published five jade vessels inscribed with Yongzheng reign-marks: a green jade handled cup; a green jade flared bowl; a pale green jade cup; a black and white jade bowl; a pale green jade brush washer, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Jade. Qing Dynasty, vol. 10, Beijing, 2011, pls 146, 153, 154, 187, and a set of black jade rings, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade. Qing Dynasty, vol. 9, Beijing, 2011, pl. 224. The four-character seal marks on the two bowls closely conform to that on the current cup. All three marks are intricately articulated in the same archaic-style seal script in two columns, undoubtedly in the same production process.

For another spinach-green jade cup, similarly decorated with bold chilong handles in openwork, see a later example, inscribed with a Qianlong yuyong mark and with original stand, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji. Qing [The complete collection of Chinese jades. Qing dynasty], vol. 6, Shijiazhuang, 1993, pl. 33. Although the overall conception of the vessel is similar, with chilong depicted flanking an archaistic gui-form cup, the overall structure of the current cup is considerably more intricate, reflecting the greater refinement and precision of master artisans producing works of art of the highest quality for the Yongzheng court. The vessel itself is carved with greater delicacy, the body polished to a lustrous gem-like quality, depicted springing with more pronounced definition from the foot. The conception of the handles differ in being angular scroll-shaped ones through which the bodies of the chilong are so skilfully worked, coiling both around and inside to achieve a dynamic, energetic spectacle, contrasting with the subtlety of the tails that are carved in lower relief as they coil around the body.

For another Qianlong chilong-handled jade cup, see a white jade example, incised with four-character seal mark, illustrated by Yang Boda, Essence of Qing Jades, Chicago, 1995, pp. 176-177, and sold in these rooms, 8th October 2014, lot 3674.  An early prototype in jade, attributed to the Yuan / Ming dynasty, from the Musée Guimet, Paris, was included in the Oriental Ceramics Society exhibition Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1975, cat. no. 326, where it is noted that qingbai and jade vessels appear to have been produced concurrently and continued to be produced throughout the Ming dynasty (p. 100). For a Yuan porcelain example, see one from the Barlow collection and another from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, included in Stacey Pierson (ed.), Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, London, 2002, pls. 41 and 42.