Page 118 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art June 2015 Hong Kong

VARIOUS OWNERS A number of similarly fine jade bowls are preserved in museum and
各方藏家 private collections. For a related example of the use of butterfly
handles, see a white jade censer and cover with four butterfly handles
51 suspending loose rings, illustrated in The Complete Collection of
A MAGNIFICENT VERY PALE GREEN JADE ‘MARRIAGE’ BOWL Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Shanghai, 2008,
Qianlong pl.27; see also a jade bowl with closely related butterfly handles
The smooth, softly polished sides finely hollowed from a very pale but fish carved on the interior, illustrated by P.F.Schneeburger, The
green stone and raised on four low feet curved to follow the shape Baur Collection, Geneva, 1976, no.B11; another also with butterfly
of the bowl, the two opposing handles each formed as a butterfly handles but with the Three Auspicious Fruits in the well is illustrated
spreading its delicate wings to each side and the long antennae by R.Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone
looping towards the wing tips, each butterfly supported on a handle Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no.88 and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
suspending a loose ring, the interior crisply carved in relief with two 27 November 2007, lot 1503.
opening blossoms and a bud amongst intertwined serrated foliage,
wood stand. 21.5cm (8 1/2in) wide (2). 青白玉質。圓身，敞口，淺腹。洗兩側雕蝴蝶形耳並套活環，腹壁內
外光素，洗底內部凸雕纏枝牡丹。底部有四矮足。
HK$1,500,000 - 1,800,000
US$190,000 - 230,000 此玉洗雕工嫻熟，內底凸雕與腹部光素形成對比更顯雍容雅緻。類似
例子可在博物館及私人收藏中所見，北京故宮博物院舊藏一件青玉
清乾隆 青白玉雕花卉紋雙蝶耳活環洗 四蝶耳活環奁 ，其蝶形耳與本拍品類似，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品
大集：玉器（下）》，上海，2008年，圖版27。另見鮑氏收藏一件
Provenance 來源： 蝴蝶耳活環洗，著錄與P.F.Schneeburger，《The Baur Collection》，
Acquired from John Sparks Ltd., London, on 29 November 1954 日內瓦，1976年，編號B11，另見一件玉雕三多紋雙碟耳活環洗，
A European private collection and thence by descent 著錄於R. Kleiner，《Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and
Simone Hartman》，香港，1996年，編號88，後由香港佳士得售
1954年11月29日購自倫敦古董商John Sparks 出，2007年11月27日，編號1503。
歐洲私人收藏，並由家族繼承

The present lot is an exemplary piece of Qianlong period jade carving
in its varied styles: the crisp, tautly curled carving on the interior
contrasts with the open simplicity of the butterflies and the softly
polished smooth exterior. Finely carved jade bowls such as the
present lot were often decorated with auspicious motifs such as bats
and butterflies to form the handles, or a pair of fish on the interior,
making them a most suitable gift for happy occasions such as a
marriage. The pair of butterfly handles on the present lot symbolises
joyful encounter, xi xiang feng 喜相逢, and by extension marital
happiness; with the pair of delicate insects embodying the union of
husband and wife.

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