A RARE TRANSLUCENT BANDED AGATE BOWL, 18TH TO... Lot n° 123
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A RARE TRANSLUCENT BANDED AGATE BOWL, 18TH TO EARLY 19TH CENTURY
China. The deep rounded sides rising from a straight ring foot to a slightly everted rim. The almost transparent stone is finely polished and shows attractive variegated tones of milky gray, caramel, and honey.
Provenance: Swedish trade.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, light surface scratches, the rim with few tiny nibbles and a minuscule chip.
Weight: 61.3 g
Dimensions: Diameter 7.6 cm
With a padded storage box. (2)
The agate used for the present bowl is exceptional for both its beautiful coloration and its highly translucent quality. Agate, with rippling layers of color ranging from bright honey to coffee brown, is one of only a few hardstones in ancient China that were valued as much as jade and introduced no later than the Han dynasty.
Literature comparison:
For examples of agate carvings see a group of vessels, some inscribed with reign marks, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the museum's exhibition Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2009, cat. nos. II-61-70. Compare also a shallow bowl in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, vol. 11, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 28, and an agate cup and dish, published in Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji, Hebei, 2005, pp.553 and 550, nos. 10 and 62. A lobed agate bowl, being offered as a tribute by a high official during the reign of Qianlong, is illustrated in Qingdai gongting shenghuo ('Life in the Forbidden City during the Qing Dynasty'), Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 280; and a set of six cups, from the Musée Guimet, Paris, included in the exhibition Emperor Kangxi and the Sun King Louis XIV, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2011, cat. no. 1A-13.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 October 2018, lot 3605
Price: HKD 1,250,000 or approx.
EUR 165,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A superbly carved and rare lobed agate bowl, Qing dynasty, Kangxi-Yongzheng period
Expert remark: Compare the related color and manner of carving. Note the lobed form and larger size (18.5 cm).
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