Page 207 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art

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A PAIR OF WHITE JADE ‘CHILONG’ SCROLL 清乾隆 白玉雕螭龍紋鎮尺一對
WEIGHTS, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD
wood stands (4) 來源:
Length 6¾ in., 17 cm
George Hathaway Taber Jr. (1859-1940) 收藏
PROVENANCE Ashkenazie & Co.，舊金山，1995年10月
Collection of George Hathaway Taber Jr. (1859-1940).
Ashkenazie & Co., San Francisco, October 1995. 展覽：
卡內基博物館，匹茲堡，1935至1940年 (借展)
EXHIBITED
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1935-1940 (on loan). 出版:
Sam Bernstein，《Chinese Jade the Immortal
LITERATURE
Stone. The Robert A. & Elizabeth Cookson
Sam Bernstein, Chinese Jade the Immortal Stone. The Robert Collection》，舊金山，2009年，圖版59
A. & Elizabeth Cookson Collection, San Francisco, 2009, pl. 59.

The present pair is outstanding for its impeccable carving
and translucent, high quality stone. Worked from flawless
white jade of a soft even tone, the sinuous bodies of the
chilong contrast with the plain, undecorated surface of the
base, the weights finely finished to a smooth and highly
tactile polish. The steady supply of jade was only secured
in the 24th year of the Qianlong reign (1759), when Qing
imperial forces subjugated the Dzungars and pacified the
Hui areas. Jade boulders from these areas were brought to
the court in large quantities, where the best specimens were
selected to be carved by artisans of the Palace Workshop to
produce imperial works such as the present that would have
surely pleased the Emperor.
Closely related examples of similar white jade scroll weights
carved with chilong can be found in museums worldwide:
see a pair, with chilong carved to each end rather than the
middle, in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. 新
00117957); a shorter paper weight, carved with a chilong
with a ruyi in its mouth, is in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei (accession no. 故玉004719N000000000).
$ 40,000-60,000

410 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11410 CHINESE JADES FROM THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT A. AND ELIZABETH COOKSON 411