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PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ENGLISH COLLECTION
~67 The present jade table screen is an exceptional example of its type,
demonstrating superb quality of carving and a very rare choice of subject
A LARGE CELADON JADE TABLE SCREEN matter. It is interesting to note the type of ship, which appears to be
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795) infuenced by European or Middle-Eastern design, and in some cases bears
similarity to Portuguese ships depicted on Japanese renditions of the frst
The rectangular screen is crisply carved to one side with a scene depicting a contact with foreign envoys. It is possible that the tribute bearers hail from
procession of foreign tribute bearers journeying up a mountainous tree-lined the Near or Middle East, as there are also similarities evident with Chinese
path with a city gate visible in the distance. The tribute bearers carry treasures depictions of the Sogdians. The fact that one tribute bearer at the head of
such as a book, a tusk, and a hawk, one is accompanied by a Buddhist lion as the procession holds a hawk or falcon on a perch may also indicate either
he holds a brocade ball. The reverse is carved with a foreign ship and its crew Mongolia or the Near and Middle East as their origin, as falconry was a
sailing amidst crashing waves beneath towering clifs. The stone is of an even cherished skill honed in these regions. Other tribute bearers hold lotus
celadon tone with some minor russet inclusions. fowers, elixir bottles, books, and bowls of fruit. Perhaps the most unusual is
11¡ in. (29 cm.) high, wood stand the tribute bearer leading a Buddhist lion on a leash as he beckons it with a
brocade ball held aloft in his left hand.
£30,000-50,000 $38,000-63,000
€35,000-58,000 The size of the procession, in addition to both the type of tribute and
impressive vessel used to carry the entourage, suggests that this would
PROVENANCE have been an envoy of great importance, perhaps sent to pay tribute to the
emperor himself, and was thus commemorated on the present jade screen.
Sotheby’s London, 24 November 1964, lot 150.
From a private English collection, amassed in the 1960s. 清乾隆 青玉進寶圖插屏
來源：英國私人珍藏；1960年代入藏；倫敦蘇富比1964年11月24日拍
賣，拍品第150號
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