Rare white jade spoon

A rare white jade spoon in an elegant S-shape, with a gracefully carved and openworked mouthpiece featuring the longevity sign Shou and bats, the handle ending in a dragon head holding a pearl in its mouth, flattened horns on the nape of its neck and a long criniere hanging from the back. The back of the handle features a four-character incised mark: Jiaqing nian zhi.
The stone is pale and white with slight inclusions that look like white flakes.

Length: 15 cm

Natural stone stain on the spoon.
勺子上存在天然瑕疵

Provenance and parallel: Collection of Captain G.

For a spoon probably from the same imperial service and formerly in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, then sold at auction, see Sotheby’s New-York sale of September 10, 2019, lot 2.