Page 97 - Nov 29 2017 HK Important Chinese Ceramics

芙蓉洞石「乾隆御筆」璽
本印以壽山芙蓉石為材，隨形浮雕牧馬圖，將石材的四面都
以深淺有致的淺浮雕刻，相連而成一幅牧馬圖卷。背景淺刻
山水樓閣，線條流暢，佈局章法有度，在相互銜接的同時又
能各自獨立成為一幅小景。山巒的刀法線條渾厚圓融，在層
疊佈置之中展現大石叢立的氣勢，而點綴其間的樹木枝葉蔥
蘢茂盛，舒展的線條與山石相互映襯；其中馬匹或騰躍、或
翻滾、或佇立、或嬉戲、憨態可掬；牧馬人的神態自若，悠
然自得，栩栩如生。整件作品表現出生機盎然之趣，春山蔥
鬱的景致因石材潤澤的質地而更添秀麗，令人觀之逾親，可
賞可玩，極富韻味。底刻陽文「乾隆御筆」四字，印文被著
錄於清代帝后璽印譜中，無論從大小、材質、篆刻字體，與
現藏故宮之乾隆寶藪中所載完全吻合。無論是印鈕還是印文
的雕琢都精湛熟練，顯示出雕琢者的高超技藝。
在清宮，印章是十分重要的文房用品，它和帝后的日常文化
生活有著密切的聯繫。展閱御府書畫，鈐於其上林林總總的
各式帝后印章，突顯出它們傳承的歷史，觀賞之餘，更添一
種別樣的情懷。環視宮中殿宇，帝后印章遺跡更是比比皆是，
它們與眾多的牌、匾、聯、額一起，構成了宮殿建築室內外
裝飾裝修中的重要組成部分。皇帝璽印及其使用遺跡廣泛分
佈於各類宮廷文物之中，成為宮廷收藏的重要鑒別依據。尤
其是乾隆皇帝，一生刻製了大量寶璽，或用於御筆書畫的鈐
蓋，或用於書畫和典籍的鑒藏標誌，成為此一時期宮廷文化
的重要物證。
如果說田黃象徵石中帝王的話，芙蓉則可稱為石中皇后。舊
時田黃與芙蓉受到同等重視，價錢也不相上下，近來市場上
才出現側重田黃之現象。本璽印材潔白純淨，質地緊密堅結，
有玉石的溫潤感，應該是將軍洞所出的老坑芙蓉石。將軍洞
位於福建加良山頂部，早在清初就已開採，出產的芙蓉石質
量上佳，被譽為石中上品。康熙時期，已深得帝王的寵愛，
AN IMPERIAL FURONGDONG
QIANLONG YUBI SEAL
The current seal is carved from a large block of furong soapstone
with a landscape scene inhabited by horses and their herdsman
in shallow relief. Each side can be viewed individually as a
vignette, while joined together they form a continuous scene like
a landscape hand scroll. The layered rocks form large mountain
formations, contrasting with the leafy trees carved with slender
trunks. The horses are depicted trotting, frolicking, standing or
playing, each with endearing details. The herdsman is carved sitting
relaxed and content. It is a lively scene and the verdant spring
is enhanced by the lustrous quality of the stone. The seal face
is carved with seal-script characters Qianlong yubi in relief. The
impression of this seal is recorded in Qianlong Emperor’s Baosou
(compendium of seal impressions), and the size and material
recorded in the compendium match the current seal. Both the seal
and the seal face has been carved masterfully, showing the carver’s
consummate skills.
Seals are important utensils in the scholar’s studio, and are
indispensable in the Emperors or Empreses’ daily lives in the
imperial palace. The calligraphy and paintings in the imperial
collection are impressed with these personal seals, showing the
collecting history and adding to the viewers’ pleasure when
viewing these works of art. The numerous plaques and couplets
hanging around the place buildings also bear these seal marks,
which become part of the architectural and interior elements.
These seal marks also aid the identification and research of many
pieces of his calligraphy. The Qianlong Emperor, in particular,
made a large number of imperial seals in his lifetime to be used
either on his own writings or paintings, or as collector’s seals on
the books and paintings/calligraphy in his collection.
Connoisseurs often praise tianhuang as the king of soap stones;
furong, in a sense, could be called the queen. However, in the old
days tianhuang and furong were prized equally and their values
fairly similar to each other. Only in recent years has tianhuang
increased in value significantly on the market. The jade-like
material of the current seal is pure and even, and appears much
denser than regular furong stones. This could indicate that it
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