Page 78 - Sothebys Speelman Gems of Chinese Art

This superb bamboo carving of Shoulao is of 本品尺寸宏碩，雕工精緻，壽老臉部線條深刻細
exceptional size and quality, notable for its 膩，笑容慈藹自然，衣袍及岩石紋理卻以大刀揮
meticulous carving, the sensitively rendered 灑斧鑿，乃康熙時期竹雕工藝之典範。清代竹雕
smiling face of Shoulao and the bold cuts used 工藝盛行，名匠多聚居於江南嘉定，包括杭州、
to depict the figure’s clothing and rockwork are 蘇州、貴安及海寧。此類竹雕工藝多為文房器
characteristic of the finest Kangxi period bamboo
具，如此造像，為陳設而製，當屬少數。
carvings. In the Qing dynasty the number of
bamboo masters reached a peak in Jiading
清代竹雕工匠多以宗教、民間典故及版畫為材，
as well as in other centres in southern China,
此作便為一例。壽老長鬚隆額，此造型初見於明
including Suzhou and Hangzhou in Jiangsu and
朝，後世皆奉之為長壽星君。壽星乃福祿壽三星
Gui’an and Haining in Zhejiang province. While
君之一，又號南極仙翁，故常見手持靈芝玉杖及
the majority of their products consisted of
仙桃，與諸童子嬉戲。
utilitarian vessels for the scholar’s desk, a small
number of bamboo figures, such as this piece,
類例可參考香港佳士得售出之例，2008年5月
was made for display.
27日，編號1887。香港蘇富比也有一竹根雕壽
Bamboo carvers of the Qing dynasty often took
老童子，尺寸稍大，壽老駕仙鹿，兩童子侍於
inspiration from religious and popular stories
側，2017年10月3日，編號3713。台北故宮博
and woodblock-print books. This charming piece
物院藏例也可資比較，尺寸較小，壽老偕童子一
depicts the God of Longevity, Shoulao, as an old
man with a long beard and a tall domed forehead, 人，錄於《匠心與仙工：明清雕刻展－竹木果核
a portrayal that first developed in the Ming period 篇》，台北，1998年，頁21。
and quickly became closely associated with the
deity. One of the Three Star Gods (Sanxing),
Shoulao represents the South Pole in Chinese
astronomy and is associated with longevity and
fecundity; hence he is often portrayed holding
a lingzhi sceptre and a peach branch while
surrounded by boys.
Comparable carvings of Shoulao include one
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th May 2008,
lot 1887; and a larger figure, but with Shoulao
seated astride a deer, flanked by two boys, sold
in these rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3713. See
also a smaller version of Shoulao with one boy, in
the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in
Jiangxin yu xiangong Ming Qing diaoke zhan. Zhu
mu guohe pian/ Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial
Feasts. The carving of Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Bamboo, Wood and Fruit Stones, Taipei, 1998,
pl. 21.

76 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比