Qing Dynasty Celadon Jade Bi

Qing Dynasty Celadon Jade Bi
VALUE (2016) | $15,000 Auction – $20,000 Auction

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW APPRAISAL

On this episode of Antiques Roadshow Lark E. Mason appraised a Qing Dynasty Celadon Jade Bi.

APPRAISED VALUE (2016) | $15,000 Auction – $20,000 Auction

This appraisal was featured in Virginia Beach, Hour 1 (#2113) and was filmed in Virginia Beach, VA (JUNE 25, 2016).

APPRAISAL TRANSCRIPT

GUEST:
This was a gift from my Aunt Juanita. She went to Shanghai in 1929 to teach English at Shanghai University, and they lived in Shanghai until 1957 and then moved to New York City. And I don't know if it's something that she had in China and brought with her, or if it's something she purchased in New York City.

APPRAISER:
So one of the first things one notices about this is the shape, the circular shape. And the second thing one notices is the color, which, pale green we refer to as celadon. The other thing to notice about this is the surface is carved with this undulating pattern of clouds or waves populated by several dragons. And there's a dragon right there. And you can see the head a little bit lower. And they're almost impossible to tell, because they're weaving in and out among the clouds or waves. You look at it and you go, “What in the world is this about?" So on the reverse, there's this fine crosshatch pattern that covers the entire surface. And that's really important, because this is a reference to a type of ritual jade object that was included in burials from as early as 3000, 3400 B.C. up through roughly around the Han Dynasty, which was second century A.D. And now one might ask, well, why in the world did they put this in a tomb? It's because this shape, the circular shape called a bi, B-I, has a connotation in Chinese culture of representing the sky. And it was complemented by another form called a cong, spelled C-O-N-G, which is this rectangular vessel that has open ends and represented the earth. So you would include these from an ancient period of time in burials, because it was the connection between our earthly existence and our heavenly existence. But the question then leads us to when?

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
It wasn't done at an ancient period of time, because the ancient period would not have had the dragon and wave and cloud surface.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
It would have been a different kind of surface. The first time, believe, you would have seen something like this would likely have been in the 18th century. But this is really unusual, so it's not something that we can compare it to. And there was, during the early 20th century, a revival of object styles that were popular during the 18th century, or had references back to earlier Chinese history. So I'm not sure. I'd love to be sure always, but I'm not sure whether this actually is an 18th century bi, or is this an early 20th century version of the same thing? So what I'm going to do in terms of value is use the more conservative figure.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
As if it dated from the early 20th century. But it's the kind of thing that's going to require more research. You want to venture a guess on what kind of value this would have?

GUEST:
Well, before hearing all that, I might have said, like, $400, $500.

APPRAISER:
I think a more reasonable amount would be $15,000 to $20,000.

GUEST:
Oh, geezy-peasy.

APPRAISER:
At auction.

GUEST:
Oh, goodness. Wow. My friend told me not to get emotional. Another treasure from Aunt Juanita.