AN ARCHAISTIC PALE CELADON JADE VASE, HU Ming DynastyA London private collection of jade carvings and Chinese works of art, lots 1-104AN ARCHAISTIC PALE CELADON JADE VASE, HUMing DynastyOf pear-shaped form, the exterior decorated with three principal registers of taotie masks, below shou characters and lappets, each section divided by vertical flanges, the shoulders set with lion head handles above kui dragon handles on the body.17.5cm (7 7/8in) highProvenance: a London private collection amassed between the 1970s and 1990s and thence by descent.A similar vase is illustrated by Rawson, Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 388, fig 6.