A Chinese pale celadon jade cup

A Chinese pale celadon jade cup, formed as a prunus blossom and surrounded by openwork stems and leaves with four further flower heads, Ming dynasty, c.16th century, inventory no.30121, 12.5cm. Provenance: An important European private collection formed in the 19th century by a Russian nobleman and diplomat. Cf. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware II, no.198 for a similar Ming example and another, J Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, p.389, fig.7.