Page 48 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art December 2015 Hong Kong

VARIOUS OWNERS 各方藏家
31 Y
A RARE RED CORAL CARVING OF A PHOENIX AMIDST
CLOUDS
Qing Dynasty
Intricately worked as a descending phoenix emerging from clouds, its
head turned left and neck twisted backwards, its plumage carefully
incised in life-likeness at the wings and tail feathers, the coral of a
salmon pink tone with natural white inclusions, wood stand.
27cm (10 5/8) long (2).

HK$200,000 - 300,000
US$26,000 - 39,000

清 珊瑚雕鳳凰擺件

Provenance 來源:
A European private collection
歐洲私人收藏

Superbly carved, the coral carving of the phoenix flying amidst cloud
scrolls is reminiscent in its quality of some of the finest jades carved
during the mid-Qing dynasty. The masterful craftsmanship is evident in
the finely detailed and naturalistic multi-layered carving rendered from
an astonishing single large piece of coral. The exceptional quality of
the carving, when combined with the deeply symbolic association of
the phoenix with the empress, strongly indicates that this was probably
made for the imperial court.
Compare a related red coral carving of a Buddhist lion, Qing dynasty,
from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection
of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Treasures of Imperial Court, Hong
Kong, 2004, pl.48.
此珊瑚雕工藝精湛，其雕琢手法與清中期玉雕風格類似，非平庸之輩
能及。珊瑚材料極其珍貴，如此碩大的珊瑚加以精緻的鳳紋雕刻，很
可能說明此擺件或為皇宮貴族所作。清宮舊藏一件清代珊瑚雕佛獅可
資對比，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：宮廷珍寶》，香港，2004
年，圖版48。

46 | BONHAMS