† A SUPERB ROCK CRYSTAL ‘MYTHICAL BEASTS’ VASE AND COVER, QIANLONG

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† A SUPERB ROCK CRYSTAL ‘MYTHICAL BEASTS’ VASE AND COVER, QIANLONG Expert’s note The extraordinary quality of the rock crystal used for the present vessel can hardly be overstated. Despite its considerable size, the material is almost perfectly flawless and possesses a water-like transparency of exceptional purity, virtually devoid of the clouds, fissures, and inclusions normally encountered in natural crystal. Indeed, its clarity is so remarkable that the material was repeatedly tested for hardness to exclude the possibility that it might be glass. Such exceptional crystal became more readily available to the Qing court following the Qianlong Emperor’s conquest of Xinjiang in 1759, which opened access to important new sources of the material. The vessel may originally have served as a parfumière or container for aromatic substances, such as dried flowers, petals, or herbs. This possibility evokes the celebrated Yude Tang (Hall for Bathing in Virtue) within the Forbidden City, an extraordinary domed bath traditionally associated with the Qianlong Emperor’s Muslim consort Rong Fei, later romanticized as Xiangfei, the “Fragrant Concubine.” Although modern scholarship has shown that the bath itself predates Qianlong—the structure is now regarded as originating in the Yuan dynasty—the association between Xiangfei, the imperial bath, Xinjiang, fragrance, and rock crystal became deeply embedded in later accounts of the Qianlong court. The imperial bath and related rock-crystal vessels are discussed at length extensively by Adriana Proser in The Magazine ANTIQUES, March 2000, pp. 454–455, pl. VIII. China, circa 1760-1770. Exquisitely carved with a flaring body resting on a galleried rim atop a short foot, carved with slightly concave band encircling the shoulder below a waisted neck and galleried rim, the neck flanked by a pair of loop handles suspending loose rings, interrupted by a pair of mythical beasts carved in high relief with their heads sharply turned backwards, the tall cover similarly decorated with a pair of mythical beasts below a rounded finial, the transparent material virtually free of inclusions. Dimensions: Height 28.5 cm (excl. stand), 32.3 cm (incl. stand) Naturally occurring crystal has long been prized in China amongst the literati who associated its understated qualities with plain beauty. Flawless in appearance with an almost glass-like clarity, the raw material of the present vessel alone would have been a great luxury in the 18th century, before the annexation of Xinjiang in 1759 that led to more abundant sources of crystal. One of the earliest records on crystal dates from the Tang dynasty (618-907) where it is mentioned as a product of “water turned to stone” and “a beautiful material imported from Persia”, hence the Chinese name shuijing, ‘the brilliance of water’. Literature comparison: Compare a related rock crystal vase and cover with dragons, dated 18th century, 19.4 cm tall, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 02.18.821a, b. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2011, lot 3233 Price: HKD 560,000 or approx. EUR 91,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and stone. 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

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