Jade vase and cover

A jade vase of flattened, oval baluster form, supported on a high trumpet foot and with archaistic, 5-shaped handles on either side of the neck. The body of the vase is carved in low relief with scenes of flowers and plants in landscape settings. The neck is decorated with a band of pendant leaves. The domed cover is surmounted by a finial in the shape of a recumbent mythical animal. The single-horned beast looks to the left, has prominent ears and eyes and its front paws are stretched out before him. The stone is of a mild green tone with some darker inclusions and has some Iight fissuring.

Provenance: Private collection, UK.

This jade vase was on view at the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield in the 1970’s and early 1980’s and subsequently on view at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath from 1988 until 2019.