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110† Y Ф Highly regarded as a natural mineral with the ‘brilliance of water’ and
A RARE ROCK CRYSTAL QILIN WATER DROPPER AND COVER as being ‘a beautiful material imported from Persia’, rock crystal was
WITH STAINED IVORY STAND associated with ‘simple beauty’ by the scholarly elites, who fashioned
Qianlong many objects from this material to decorate their studios.
Well carved as a recumbent qilin with two horns and smiling mouth,
the circular cover carved as a small qilin reclining on the larger qilin’s A rock crystal cup and vase, Qianlong period, is illustrated in The
back, the ivory stand dyed red and expertly carved with three dynamic Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong,
chilong among clouds. 2004, pls.22-23; a brushpot is illustrated in Arts from the Scholar’s
12.5cm (4 7/8in) long (3). Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, no.130; and a crystal water container in
the form of a wild duck is illustrated in The Complete Collection of
£30,000 - 50,000 CNY280,000 - 460,000 Treasures of the Palace Museum: Small Refined Articles of the Study,
HK$330,000 - 550,000 Shenzhen, 2009, p.194, pl.181. See also, a ewer carved as a duck
which was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2010, lot 1986.
清乾隆 水晶麒麟式帶染牙座水盂
The stained ivory stand is also of exceptional quality and is comparable
to the high artistry and skill of a stained ivory ruyi-head cloud stand,
Qianlong period, illustrated in Gugong zhenbao, Beijing, 2004, pp.212-
213.

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