Openwork perfumer in Hindustan style

In the form of a Chinese gui-shaped ritual vessel, this transparent white perfumer is decorated in the Hindustan style. It is shown here to the left of the base on which it normally stands. The thin transparent vessel is an excellent example of the technical achievement of early-twentieth-century jade artisans.

Eight musicians and dancers, alternating with chrysanthemums and acanthus-like leaves, ornament the body, which rests on a flaring foot. The plain neck band above them is decorated with lenticular turquoise beads in a zigzag pattern, with red stones in the spaces above and below. The dragon handles are carved in high relief and openwork, with the mouths of the dragons well hollowed. The eyes are of amber-colored stones, with the pupils dotted from behind.

The lid is a fine piece of openwork carving, with a band of baoxiang hua (a stylized lotus design) and another of chrysanthemum. On the knob is a celestial dancer wreathed in scarves, surrounded by clouds shaped like ruyi (a fungus). Below that is another decorative band of turquoise and red beads and a row of cloud patterns.

The base, resting on four petals, is especially impressive. Even the top area, which is normally covered by the perfumer, is decorated with an openwork design of a six-petal flower surrounded by baoxiang hua. The sides are again carved in openwork of flowers and leaves. Two animal heads protrude from the sides in high relief, with inlaid eyes treated in the same manner as the dragon eyes.
This piece confirms early-twentieth-century ideas of a Hindustan-style piece: that it has to be thin, finely polished, and rich in the use of floral motifs.