Page 31 - 2019 September 10th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art Jades, Met Museum Irving Collection NYC

Expertly fashioned in multiple layers of relief that suggest 㛔䌱ⰙⰌⰌ晽䏊炻䳘䶣ℍ⽖炻䚉栗䌱⋈忈娋炻曰沍
receding space, this piece is a remarkable example of a jade ⍲䧿䦰⭴㚱䩳橼⚻晽ᷳデ炻㳩㯜Ⱉ䞛㘗㶙↮㖶炻
mountain carving (yushan). Every detail of the design is carefully
ⶏ⤒⣑ⶍˤ䲳梦Ự⯨䚉䓐列㛸炻㷃⮹检⺊炻ⷞ墸刚
executed and the craftsman has successfully captured the
di! erent textures of the design elements: from birds and 嗽炻⇯䓐㕤⇣∫沍佥ˣ䨩↢Ⱉ䞛ᷳ㇚∯デˤ
sprays of millet which give the impression of being modeled
entirely in the round, to ß owing water in the foreground and Ḧ昮ⷅᷣ⻝㍺⯷⍲Ⱉ⫸䫱䌱晽枰ⷞ㬟ẋ⎵⭞䔓
overhanging rocks. The scene is designed to maximize the use シˤġ㒂庱炻檀⬿㚦␥ⶍ⋈䄏℞⽉啷⎌䔓晽䌱ˤ洒
of the entire boulder so as to waste as little of the precious 洱䲳梦炻⎗⍫侫⎘⊿㓭⭖⌂䈑昊㓞啷⬳Ṣ˪⬱␴
material as possible. The natural russet skin of the jade stone
has been cleverly incorporated into the overall design and used ⚾˫炻㚦⯽㕤˪⋫䥏⸜⬳ẋ㔯䈑⣏⯽˫炻
to emphasize the birds’ plumage and the dramatic sharpness of ⎘⊿炻ijııı⸜炻䶐嘇ŊŊĮķį
the rocks.
⤪㬌䌱Ⱉ⫸炻㔯⢓⣂伖㚠敋㟰柕炻℔检ᷳ㗪炻岆
The Qianlong Emperor advocated that jade mountains and
䍑䤆忲ˤ洒洱⭻シ⎱䤍炻ˬ洒˭炻冯ˬ⬱˭媏枛炻㓭
carved panels should carry the spirit of paintings by famous past
masters. It is recorded that a number of classical paintings from 㚱⸛⬱ᷳシ炻ˬ䧿˭炻⍰冯ˬ⳿˭媏枛炻㓭㬌䧿䦰洒
the imperial collection were ordered to be reproduced in jade. 洱炻䤅栀㬚㬚⸛⬱ˤ
The motif of quails on this piece is reminiscent of bird-and-ß ower
paintings made in the Song dynasty (960-1279), such as the
anonymous hanging scroll Peace and Harmony, depicting quails
and millet, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in
the Museum’s exhibition China at the Inception of the Second
Millennium. Art and Culture of the Sung Dynasty, 960-1279,
Taipei, 2000, cat. no. II-6.
Jade mountain carvings were kept in scholars’ studios where
they provided a means of inspiration and escape from the
regulated life of the court through their sense of ethereality
and their subject matter. Quails, in China called anchun, are
highly auspicious, since ‘an’ is a homophone of the word for
peace. Depictions of quails among ears of millet are symbolic of
abundance and express the wish for peace year after year (suisui
ping’an).

CHINESE ART FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: THE FLORENCE AND HERBERT IRVING GIFT 29