A SPINACH-GREEN JADE GUI-FORM CENSER AND COVER, QIANLONG PERIOD
China, 1736-1795. Superbly carved with deep rounded sides raised on a flared foot, flanked by two wide upright S-shaped loop handles, the domed cover surmounted by an intricately carved and pierced finial in the form of a ferocious dragon, above a central aperture to the interior of the cover. Finely carved around the exterior of the bowl and cover with archaistic taotie mask designs interspersed by cross-hatched lozenges, C- and S-scrolls, and an angular scroll, the foot encircled by a band of ruyi heads. The translucent stone is of a deep spinach-green color with dark specks, russet veins, and cloudy inclusions.


Provenance:
Robin and Fay Marx, Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom, acquired before 1954 and thence by descent in the family. Copies of four old insurance valuations from John Sparks Ltd., each confirming the dating above, accompany this lot. The fourth and last valuation is dated 28 January 1965, signed by Peter Vaughan (Director of John Sparks Ltd.), and states a value for the present lot (no. 29) of GBP 2,000 or approx.
EUR 60,500
(converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Robin Marx (1923-1975) was a merchant banker with an erudite passion for Chinese jades. By the early 1950s, he had built an impressive collection with the help and guidance of celebrated London dealer Peter Sparks of John Sparks Ltd. Robin was a distant relative of the influential economist Karl Marx. He bequeathed a significant part of his library to the British Museum, a fellow employee of his was Ian Fleming, and he regularly shared a box at the races with Princess Margaret. For decades after Robin’s death, his wife Fay kept his collection on loving display in the family home. A part of the collection was sold by Christie’s on 16 December 2022 after Fay’s passing in 2021, including two pieces which were also included in the John Sparks insurance valuations: A spinach-green jade brushpot, Qianlong period, initially valued at GBP 250 (no. 8) and sold by Christie’s for
EUR 56,700
, and lot 137, a ‘dragon’ jar and cover, Jiajing mark and period, initially valued at GBP 375 (no. 37) and sold by Christie’s for
EUR 94,500
, lot 132.

Condition:
Good condition with minor wear and minuscule nibbling. The jade with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 1,134 g
Dimensions: Width 24.3 cm


Expert’s note:
This censer is notable for its bold, well-proportioned form as well as its exquisitely carved archaistic taotie mask decorations and magnificent, pierced, coiled dragon-form finial. During the eighteenth century, some of the finest jade carvings found their inspiration in archaic artifacts collected and treasured by the emperors. The decorative motifs on the body of the present censer draw inspiration from archaic bronze vessels. Roger Keverne explains in his 1991 publication, Jade, pp. 164, that spinach-green incense burners of this type were
found in the Imperial palace
.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1110
Price: USD 555,000 or approx.
EUR 614,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large spinach-green jade tripod censer and cover, Qing dynasty, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related color, manner of carving with similar taotie decoration, and size (24.4 cm), as well as the related gui form with a similar open worked dragon finial, the vessel however raised on three legs.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2005, lot 1567
Price: HKD 780,000 or approx.
EUR 144,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large spinach-green jade tripod censer and cover, Qianlong period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related color, manner of carving with similar taotie decoration, and size (24.8 cm), as well as the related gui form with similar handles and openworked dragon finial, the vessel however raised on three legs and carved with flanges.




乾隆菠菜綠玉雕簋形蓋爐


中國，1736-1795 年。仿青铜簋，两侧方形立耳，平底，圈足外撇。蓋上鏤雕龍形鈕。外壁精美浮雕仿古饕餮紋、雲紋以及如意紋等。半透明的玉石呈深菠菜綠色，帶有黑色斑點、黃褐色紋理和内沁。以雷纹为地，腹部琢刻二组浅浮雕蟠螭纹，下部为三角纹；盖为覆碗形，圆雕龙形钮，雷纹地，主纹为变形夔纹。精美的雕刻，深圓形的側面在喇叭形的腳上凸起，兩側是兩個寬直的S 形環形手柄，圓頂蓋上有一個複雜的雕刻和穿孔的兇猛龍形狀的尖頂，位於通向內部的中央孔上方。封面。 碗外壁精雕細刻，蓋上飾有仿古饕餮面具圖案，間有菱形、C型、S型渦卷、棱角渦紋，足部環繞一圈如意頭像。 半透明的寶石呈深菠菜綠色，帶有黑色斑點、黃褐色紋理和渾濁的內含物。


來源：
Robin 和 Fay Marx 收藏，英國薩里郡韋布里奇，於 1954 年之前購得，並在一個家族保存。 此拍品附有早前John Sparks藝廊出具的四份保險估價副本，每份都確認了上述日期。 第四次也是最後一次估價日期為 1965 年 1 月 28 日，由 Peter Vaughan（John Sparks Ltd. 董事）簽署，並指出當前拍品（第 29 號）的價值為 2,000 英鎊或約 60,500 歐元（根據撰寫本文時的通貨膨脹情況進行換算和調整）。 Robin Marx（1923-1975）是一位商業銀行家，對中國玉器尤其鍾愛情。二十世紀五十年代初，他在John Sparks 藝廊的著名倫敦經銷商Peter Sparks 的幫助和指導下，建立了重要收藏。Robin是頗具影響力的經濟學家卡爾·馬克思的遠親。 他將圖書館的很大一部分捐贈給了大英博物館，他的同事是Ian Fleming，他經常在賽馬會上與瑪格麗特公主共用看台。 Robin去世後，他的妻子Fay一直在家中精心陳列著他的收藏品。 Fay於2021年 年去世後，該藏品的一部分於2022年 年12 月16 日由佳士得拍賣，其中兩件也包含在John Sparks保險估價中： 清乾隆時期菠菜綠玉筆筒，初估價250 英鎊(第 8號），佳士得以56,700 歐元成交，拍品137，一件嘉靖款龍紋蓋罐，初值375 英鎊（第37 號），佳士得以
94,500 歐元
成交，拍品132 。

品相：
狀況良好，有輕微磨損和刻痕，玉石具有天然裂紋的玉石。

重量：1,134 克
尺寸：寬 24.3 厘米


此爐造型美觀
，雕工精美，仿古饕餮面具紋飾，龍紋鏤空盤龍，氣勢雄偉。 十八世紀期間，出現很多仿古精美玉雕。本爐爐身的裝飾圖案是從古代青銅器中汲取靈感的。Roger Keverne 在他 1991 年的出版物《玉》第 164 頁中解釋了在皇宮中發現了這種類型的菠菜綠玉爐。


拍賣比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2019年3月21日，lot 1110
價格：USD 555,000（相當今日
EUR 614,000
）
描述：清十八世紀碧玉仿古龍紋三足蓋爐
專家註釋：比較非常相近顏色，雕刻風格 、相似的饕餮裝飾和尺寸 (24.4 厘米)，以及相近的外形 ，如龍紋蓋紐和三足。


拍賣比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2005年5月30日，lot 1567
價格：HKD 780,000（相當今日
EUR 144,000
）
描述：乾隆菠菜綠三足蓋爐
專家註釋：比較非常相近的顏色，雕刻風格饕餮裝飾和尺寸(24.8 厘米)，以及相近的外形 ，如龍紋蓋紐和三足。