Page 167 - 2019 OctoberSur Quo Wei Lee Collectim Important Chinese Art Hong Kong

This piece was carved from a boulder of remarkable 本品材自巨碩玉料，雕飾渾然天成。匠師以兩節竹段為形，
proportions, expertly transformed into a naturalistic sculpture. 細琢各種竹紋，竹身形態不一，竹節浮凸，根瘤點綴。玉石
Modelled in the form of two sections of bamboo, the carver 褐斑自然，巧妙融入整體造型，觀本品奇形與枝葉分佈，可
of this piece has sensitively captured the different textures of 見一斑。
the motif, from the irregular form of the bark, the raised nodes
and intricate web of round burls. Furthermore, the russet 本品師法自然，彰顯宋代與後世文人審美觀。天地萬物之不
inclusions of the stone were cleverly incorporated into the
定性，如竹根之奇形，與橫斜竹節，皆視為自然變化的美麗
overall design, as evident in the irregular shape of the vessel,
化身，古人不僅崇尚原始自然美，亦以其他載體再現，包括
and the positioning of leaves and branches.
玉器。此類花插屬文房用器，士大夫以此寄林泉之念，亦為
The naturalistic rendering of this piece captures the aesthetic 反思靈感之源。竹喻君子，正直不阿，虛懷若谷。玉上褐
ideals adopted by literati from the Song dynasty (960-1279) 斑，喚起上古三帝之一堯帝典故，傳說堯之二女於父墳前「
onward. Irregularities in nature such as the strange patterns
以涕揮竹，竹盡斑」。
on a bamboo root and its diagonal nodes were deemed
beautiful representation of nature’s unpredictability and were
此類花插中，如此尺寸者屬罕見。對比一較小例，採單節竹
thus not only appreciated in their original form but were also
段之式，售於紐約佳士得2005年3月30日，編號112。一件以
replicated in other media, including jade. Vases of this type
竹與松樁為形，飾有一鳳，北京故宮博物院藏，圖載於《故
were used in scholar’s studios where they were not merely
宮博物院藏品大系．玉器編》，卷8：清，北京，2011年，
utilitarian vessels but also served as a means of escape
圖版181，同載一松樁例，飾歲寒三友，圖版179。Halifax
from the regulated court life, and a source of reflections and
inspiration through their subject matter. Bamboo was often 伯爵夫人舊藏也有例可參照，圖載於 Robert Kleiner，
likened to the ideal scholar; it grows straight, it bends but 《Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone
does not break and is considered a humble tree. The russet Hartman》，香港，1996年，圖版117。
inclusions of the stone of the present piece recall the story of
Emperor Yao, one of the three legendary emperors of the third 明朝竹形器，見一飾螭龍例，北京故宮博物院藏，圖載於《
millennium BC, and his two daughters, whose tears are said to 中國美術全集：玉器》，卷9，北京，1991年，圖版291。
have marked the skin of the bamboo trees that grew over their 另一盃例，同屬清宮舊藏，現存北京故宮博物院，見《故宮
father’s tomb. 博物院藏文物珍品全集．玉器（中）》，香港，1995年，圖
Vases of this type and of such large size are rare; compare 版199。
a smaller vase carved as a single section of bamboo, sold
at Christie’s New York, 30th March 2005, lot 112; one in the
form of a bamboo and pine trunk, but also with a phoenix, in
the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Compendium
of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade, vol. 8, Qing
Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl. 181, together with another carved
as a pine trunk with bamboo, plum and pine branches, pl.
179; and a fourth vase from the collection of the Countess of
Halifax, illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the
Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl.
117.
For a Ming dynasty vessel in the form of bamboo, see one
also with a chilong, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated
in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Yuqi [Complete collection of
Chinese art. Jade ware], vol. 9, Beijing, 1991, pl. 291; and
another, described as a cup, also from the Qing court
collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (II),
Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 199.