China, Qing dynasty, circa 1750-1850.

Expert’s note:
This magnificent ewer is notable for its white jade plaques set in a gilt silver body, a popular 18th-century practice across various media. The exceptionally large size of the two main plaques indicates they were made specifically for this ewer. Its unusual flattened form, influenced by the jade insets, also harks back to archaic bronze ewers (he) of the Eastern Zhou (770-256 BC), which often featured zoomorphic designs and were raised on four legs. For example, see a bronze ‘bird’ ewer, he, Spring and Autumn period, at Christie’s London, 10 November 2015, lot 24, and another in the Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, Warwickshire, collection number CVCSV 0230.1-2A.

Provenance: The private collection of Jules Speelman, London, United Kingdom. Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 3462, estimate HKD 2,500,000 or approx. EUR 330,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Jules Speelman is a world-leading dealer and collector of East Asian art with 60 years of experience. In 1964 he joined his late father, Alfred, in the family business which already stretched back three generations to 19th century Holland and expanded into England around the turn of the century. Originally, A & J Speelman dealt with antiques, from European ceramics, silver, tapestries, and furniture to Chinese porcelain, and works of art. With his father, Jules gradually shifted the focus towards Asia and under Jules Speelman's skilled direction, A & J Speelman is now considered amongst the foremost dealers in Asian antiques, with a particular emphasis on figurative sculpture and works of art from the past 2000 years.
Condition: Very good condition with expected old wear to the silver from extensive handling, rubbing to gilt, and manufacturing irregularities including minor traces of soldering. The jade with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks, and microscopic nibbles here and there.

Weight: 1,184 g
Dimensions: Length 25.5 cm

The finely gilt silver vessel is of flattened form with a circular body, supported on a splayed foot and surmounted by a tapering neck and galleried mouth-rim, flanked by a handle modeled in the form of a dragon's head at the top and ending with an upturned tail, opposite a spout cast as a phoenix with its beak forming the aperture and plumage elaborately rendered in scrollwork.

Each main side of the vessel is inset with a rather large, convex white jade panel of oval form. One side is worked in low relief with two peaches borne on gnarled leafy branches and further rendered with two bats. The other side is similarly decorated with a partially concealed bat and a floral bloom issuing from a stem.

The oval cover is similarly inset with a pierced white jade panel adorned with a pair of kui dragons, encircling a gilt finial cast covered with petal motifs.

The base neatly incised with a four-character mark Qianlong nianzhi.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4 April 2012, lot 3030
Estimate: HKD 300,000 or approx. EUR 48,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white jade and silver double-gourd vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the related white jade insets on a silver vase of different form, lacking the fine gilding of the present lot.