A large and rare very pale green jade 'chilong and fish' ink palette


QianlongCarved in the form of an elongated lotus leaf with folded edges, issuing long leafy winding stems bearing a lotus flower, the interior depicting a pair of swimming carp facing each other, observed by a large crouching chilong with bifurcated tail clambering at one end of the lotus leaf, carved wood stand. 31.5cm (12 3/8in) long (2).
|清乾隆 青白玉年年有餘蟠螭荷葉筆掭Provenance: a European private collection, acquired from Spink & Son Ltd., London, on 13 December 1955, and thence by descent來源： 歐洲私人收藏，1955年12月13日購自倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.；並由後人保存迄今The present ink palette is rare for its large size and depth of the exceptional high-relief carving of the dragon and fish. Compare a related white and pale green jade ink palette, Qianlong (19.7cm long), illustrated in Marchant, Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, pl.10.The fine details found on this ink palette reflect the high standards achieved in jade carving during the reign of the Qianlong emperor. A variety of writing implements was produced for use by the literati classes, such as brush rests, pots and ink stones, was inspired by animal and floral shapes. In the eyes of their viewer, these objects acted as manifestations of nature's vital energy and thus recalled the universal longing of the cultivated elite to escape from the everyday world to where they could commune with nature and forge their identity as poets, painters and calligraphers.