Page 95 - Sotheby's Fine Chinese Art NYC September 2023

IMMORTAL REALMS

A MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF WHITE JADE
TABLE SCREENS

瓊宇天境：白玉群仙賀壽圖插屏一對

xpertly carved on both sides with varying levels of relief and finished to 此對白玉插屏雙面滿雕，層次分明，瑩澤
a lustrous gloss, the present pair of screens is a superb example of jade 秀潤，乃琢玉成器之佳作、乾隆御製之典
Eworkmanship and characteristic of the type created in the Imperial Palace 型。人物刻畫一絲不苟，圖景塑造流麗輕
靈，頗見藝匠巧工。
during the Qianlong Emperor’s reign. The skill of the carver is evident in the fine
rendering of the impeccably detailed figures and the vast ethereal landscape. 乾隆之前鮮有此類玉插屏，因無暇美玉珍
罕難求。雕琢玉屏需精選籽料，質地透
Screens such as the present pair were seldom created before the Qianlong period 潤、成色瑩潔，畫面層次方可躍然眼前，
due to the rarity of large flawless pieces of jade. Such screens were fashioned from 注目觀賞方得心往神馳。
carefully chosen highly-translucent stones, which would enhance the differing
此對插屏出於同一籽料，屏上畫面連貫一
depths of the carved pictorial scene, allowing viewers to be easily transported into
致，乃兩位仙翁及一侍童遊於嶙峋山石
the tranquil and inviting landscapes. 間。凝神細看，目光隨山路蜿蜒而上，終
Remarkably, the pair of screens were cut from the same stone and depict a similar, 至峰頂亭台，如與屏中三人同行。背面精
雕祥禽瑞獸，一屏有鹿成對，一屏有鶴成
almost continuous, narrative of two immortals and one attendant traveling amidst
雙，同現山巒，祝頌鹿鶴同春。
the jagged mountainous landscape. As the viewer’s eye follows along the winding
path, one embarks on the same journey as the trio, eventually reaching the pavilion 比一白玉插屏近例，Heber R. Bishop
at the top of the mountain, signaling the final destination of the journey. On the 舊藏，現存於紐約大都會博物館（編
號02.18.652）；另一德安堂雅藏插屏
reverse, the panels are beautifully carved with auspicious animals, one with a pair of
曾展於《玉緣——德安堂藏玉》，故
deer and the other with a pair of cranes, both emblematic of longevity and set with
宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號26；
mountainous terrain.
再比哈特曼伉儷所藏白玉插屏一對，
Compare a similarly carved white jade table screen, previously in the Heber R. 其一原屬哈佛大學福格博物館，劍
橋，另一則為Frederick Knight寶蓄，
Bishop Collection, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession
錄 Robert Kleiner，《Chinese Jades
no. 02.18.652); one from the De An Tang Collection was included in the exhibition A
from the Collection of Alan and Simone
Romance of Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004,
Hartman》，香港，1996年，圖版123，
cat. no. 26; a pair, one from the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 售於香港佳士得2007年11月27日，編號
and the other from the Frederick Knight Collection, illustrated in Robert Kleiner, 1511；另比一歐雲伉儷收藏碧玉例，售
Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, 於紐約佳士得2019年3月19日，編號821
pl. 123, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th November 2007, lot 1511; a spinach-green ；及一白玉例，Alwin Charles Ernst 舊
jade example from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, sold at Christie’s 藏，售於紐約蘇富比2023年3月22日，編
號523。
New York, 19th March 2019, lot 821; and lastly, a white jade example, previously in
the collection of Alwin Charles Ernst, sold in these room, 22nd March 2023, lot 523.

186 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11275