Page 50 - Chinese Jades Nov 30 2017 Hong Kong

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A LARGE CELADON AND RUSSET JADE 宋至金 青白玉梧桐雙兔牌飾
‘RABBIT’ PLAQUE
SONG – JIN DYNASTY 來源：
慎德堂，台北
of oval section, the top deftly reticulated and worked in high
relief, depicting two rabbits looking backwards at a mythical 梧桐雙兔玉牌，雕工精湛，構圖層次豐富，巧妙運用扁薄
tortoise issuing scrolling clouds from its mouth, all amidst a 籽玉原石，紋飾立體，躍然生動，採玉皮褐斑琢作山石、
rocky landscape with overhanging trees under the moon, the
stone of a pale celadon tone with brown veins 林蔭，對比玉兔一白、另一毛色微帶淺斑，自然如生。
11.4 cm, 4½ in.
大英博物館藏一件遼至金代玉牌，綴玉兔靈芝紋，刊載於
羅森，《Chinese Jade. From the Neolithic to the Qing》
PROVENANCE
，倫敦，1995年，圖版25:11，玉兔姿態近類此例，雕工
C.C. Teng & Co., Taipei.
精準，眼梢、纖毛描寫與此件拍品如出一轍，此處繾綣靈
HK$ 150,000-200,000 動之雲煙亦與大英博物館藏品之靈芝紋相若。
US$ 19,300-25,700
雙兔紋飾寄意吉祥，或寓長生不老。參考另一件宋代兔紋
The superb plaque is remarkable for its skilful carving in 玉雕，錄於《中國肖生玉雕》，香港藝術館，香港，1996
achieving several layers of depth on a thin and flat jade
pebble. The carver has utilised as much of the precious stone 年，編號101。
as possible to fashion a scene of figures in a landscape, the
foliage of which is cleverly picked out by the russet skin of the
stone. In its three-dimensionality, the setting helps illustrate
the narrative in a naturalistic manner.
A jade plaque dated to the Liao or Jin dynasty in the British
Museum, decorated with a rabbit amidst lingzhi fungus, is
illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade. From the Neolithic
to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 25:11. The precise rendering
of the rabbit’s form and posture closely matches that on the
current plaque, as do other precise details, such as the near-
identical incised almond-shaped eyes and other subtle details
including the fur, so carefully delineated with gently incised
lines. The vivid scrolling clouds emerging from the mouth of
the tortoise on the current plaque also closely relate to the
lingzhi fungus on the British Museum plaque.
The motif of two rabbits on the current plaque may have been
used to recall an auspicious phrase, or be linked to immortality.
For other Song dynasty representations of rabbits in jade, see
the small pair illustrated in Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong
Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 101.

48 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比