QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
LENGTH: 12CM
The waterpot is fashioned from a single block of rock crystal, depicting the
renowned Tang dynasty poet Li Bai ( 李白) seated with his left sleeve resting on a
raised left leg. He leans against a wine jar and is flanked on his left by a squatting
attendant. The waterpot is transparent with traces of natural stone inclusions and
polished to a glossy finish.
Li Bai (701-762), pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai ( 太白), was
heralded as one of the greatest poets during the ‘Golden Age of Chinese Poetry’.
Around 1000 poems were attributed as his works and he has since become a
legendary figure, often visually depicted as a scholar leaning against a wine jar.
A spinach green jade waterpot in the Qing court collection, with similar rendering
of the scholar’s face, is illustrated in the Classics of Forbidden City: Scholar’s
Paraphernalia 故宮博物院編故宮經典：文房清供, Beijing, 2009, p. 92, Catalogue
No. 69. A white jade example dated to Ming to Qing dynasty, is published in the
National Palace Museum book Wenfang Juying (Volume 1 of 2) 國立故宮博物院文
房聚英（全一冊） 圖版篇, Taipei, 1993, p. 153, Catalogue No. 129.
PROVENANCE
Collection of Gerard Arnhold (1918-2010), a German philanthropist and ardent collector of Chinese Art.
Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1983
PUBLISHED IN
Spink & Son Ltd.’s published catalogue The Minor Arts of China , London, 1983,
p. 92, Catalogue No. 146.
| 清中期 水晶雕李白醉酒水丞 |
