Page 87 - 2019 OctoberSur Quo Wei Lee Collectim Important Chinese Art Hong Kong

Skilfully reticulated, the present brushpot is carved 白玉筆筒，小巧高雅，透雕玲瓏，層次分明。緩轉筆筒，通
with a continuous scene of the gathering of five elderly 景雕刻猶如卷軸延開，亭高峰峻，蒼松底、翠柳下，山石嶙
gentlemen sheltered by craggy rocks and overhanging trees, 峋，泉流潺潺，五老從容談天、賞畫，輕鬆自然，各享其
complemented by a flowing stream and a lofty pavilion in 樂。添鐫高宗乾隆三十一年夏（1766年）作〈題和闐玉五老
the background. As such, this brushpot is like a long scroll
圖〉詩（收錄於《御製詩三集》，卷57，頁18，圖一），詠
with a narrative enfolding around the sides, showing the
其巒若廬山，人物逼真，猶如雅聚睢陽，逍遙自在，借物忬
five venerable scholars travelling through the countryside,
情，表達對悠閒生活的嚮往。
enjoying various leisurely activities and the hidden delights
of forests and streams. It is completed by an imperial poem
五老乃五位宋朝重臣，年至耄耋，辭官後寓居睢陽，經常晏
written in 1766 by the Qianlong Emperor, titled ti Hetian yu
集賦詩，飲酒作樂，頤養天年。北宋皇年間，睢陽丹青高
wulao tu (‘On the Khotan jade depicting the Five Elders’),
手為五老各繪製全身像，以表敬重，並題名《睢陽五老圖》
praising not only the carving of the figures and the mountains,
but also a desirable carefree lifestyle (Qing Gaozong yuzhi 。現《睢陽五老圖》已分藏美國三所博物館。五位老人中
shiwen quanji [Anthology of imperial Qianlong poems and 以年屆八十之杜衍官職最高，位居丞相祁國公；年紀最長畢
text], Yuzhi shi san ji [Imperial poetry, vol. 3], juan 57, p. 18 世長，時年已經九十有四，司農卿；朱貫八十八歲，兵部郎
(fig. 1). 中；王渙九十，禮部侍郎；馮平八十七歲，駕部郎中。北宋
錢明逸於至和三年（1056年）為之作序，歐陽修、晏殊、范
The subject commemorates the retirement and friendship of
five respected octogenarians in Suiyang, present day Henan 仲淹、文彥博、司馬光、程顥、程頤、蘇軾、蘇轍、黃庭堅
province, and is known as the ‘Five Elders of Suiyang’, after 等十八位北宋重要文人紛紛在畫上題詩題跋，時至清末，逾
a painting from the Northern Song dynasty. Painted in the 百位名人為之題贊，頌揚五老退隱田園的閑逸生活，且甚是
early 1050s, it features five aged honourable scholar-officials, 嚮往。
including Du Yan, who had attained the rank of prime minister,
the highest rank among the five, Zhu Guan, a native of 朱貫在〈睢陽五老會詩〉中詠：「各還朝政遇堯年，鶴髮俱
Suiyang, and the Director of the Ministry of War, Bi Shichang, 宜預道冠。乍到林泉能放曠，全拋簪紱尚盤桓。君恩至重如
Wang Huan and Feng Ping. The painting was later divided 天覆，相坐時親畏地寒。九老且無元老貴，莫將西洛一般
into five parts, now in the collections of three museums in
看。」英文譯本見 Peter C. Sturman，〈In the Realm of
the United States. The colophons, comprising of numerous
Naturalness: Problems of Self-Imaging by the Northern
admiring inscriptions and poems by notable scholars of the
Song Literati〉，Maxwell K. Hearn 及 Judith G. Smith，
Northern Song period, praise the joys of retirement when, free
《Arts of the Sung and Yuan》，紐約，1996年，頁168。
from the formalities and restraints of the court, these old men
could indulge in the enjoyment of life.
以五老圖為題之玉雕，可參考德安堂珍藏白玉五老觀潮筆
A related poem by Zhu Guan, one of the Five Elders, reads
筒，尺寸較大，底有「乾隆年製」款，曾在《玉緣：德安堂
‘now with crane-white hair, all (five elders) feel ready to
藏玉》中展出，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號13。2018
prepare the Taoist’s cap. Suddenly arriving among forests
年11月7日倫敦蘇富比售出一乾隆碧玉五老圖筆筒（編號19
and streams, they are able to let themselves go; having
），也屬大號之類，徐琳博士在介紹文中提出，高宗年事愈
thrown away their hair clasps and sashes, they esteem
高，愈渴求長壽，或因此製作更多以耄耋老人為題之品（頁
leisure wandering’, see Peter C. Sturman, ‘In the Realm of
Naturalness: Problems of Self-Imaging by the Northern Song 49）。參考其他五老圖玉雕，如台北故宮博物院藏清白玉
Literati’, in Maxwell K. Hearn and Judith G. Smith, Arts of the 五老山子，收錄於《宮廷之雅：清代仿古及畫意玉器特展圖
Sung and Yuan, New York, 1996, p. 168. 錄》，台北，1997年，編號47。
For jade brushpots decorated with the same theme, see a
slightly larger example of Qianlong mark and period from the
De An Tang collection, depicting the Five Elders gathering at
a terrace overlooking waves, exhibited in A Romance with
Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing,
2004, cat. no. 13. A further spinach-green jade brushpot from
the collection of Robert Napier was sold in our London rooms,
7th November 2018, lot 19. In the introductory essay to the lot,
Dr Xu Lin writes, ‘In his old age, the Qianlong Emperor yearned
for longevity, and this was reflected in the many longevity-
themed works of jade carvings produced during his reign’ (p.
50). Compare also a white jade boulder of the same subject
matter in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated
in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of
Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei, 1997,
cat. no. 47.