Page 81 - 2019 OctoberSur Quo Wei Lee Collectim Important Chinese Art Hong Kong

Crafted from a boulder of luminous white tone
本品玉質卓絕，白玉瑩潤透亮，巧施鏤雕紋飾，
and accentuated by exuberant carved decoration 盡顯清乾隆時期玉匠造詣精深，成就佳作，力臻
in openwork, the present bowl and cover testifies 和諧之美。
the pursuit of harmonious beauty and adroit
draughtsmanship in jade carvings during the 蓋奩為古代貯物器具，多用作收放梳妝用品及飾
Qianlong period. 品，盛行於清代宮廷。其多以木為材，加以雕飾
Bowls and covers of this form, also known as lian, 或嵌玉。如斯玉雕蓋奩，彰顯擁有者名望出眾、
served as vessels to carry grooming tools and 家勢富裕，時而用作女子出閣時的嫁妝。
cosmetics in ancient China. In the Qing imperial
court, such bowls were often fashioned from 北京故宮博物院藏有一例，同綴鏤雕折沿，見於
wood, and either adorned with auspicious carved 《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．玉器（下）》，
decoration or inlaid with jade. Jade bowls as such 香港，1995年，圖版198。有別於此例，本品通
would have been a testament to the owner’s 體保留光素，突顯原石純淨無瑕，可見其玉質相
family status and wealth, and sometimes formed
較故宮一例更瑩潤通透。
part of a lady’s dowry.
A bowl and cover in the Palace Museum, 另可參考一龍紋玉奩，載於 Robert Kleiner，
Beijing, of similar form and also adorned with 《Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan
a pronounced everted rim, is illustrated in The and Simone Hartman》，香港，1996年，圖版
Complete Collection of Treasures from the 79。尚有一例，施淺浮雕八吉祥紋，售於香港佳
Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong,
士得2013年11月27日，編號3398。
1995, pl. 198. Noteworthy is that the majority
of the surface of the present bowl has been left
plain and undecorated, this treatment is probably
intentional to draw attention to the natural
beauty and even stone colour of the present
bowl, which excels that of the Palace Museum
example.
Compare a bowl and cover of similar form but
carved with dragons, illustrated in Robert Kleiner,
Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and
Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 79; and
another similarly decorated with the bajixiang
but in shallow relief, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
27th November 2013, lot 3398.