Page 121 - Sotheby's Arcadian beauty Song Pottery Oct. 3, 2018

This exquisite jade carving of a crouching deer is carved from 玉雕瑞鹿，精妙靈動，取白潤籽玉琢之，間綴帶狀褐斑，對
a river pebble of soft white colour, highlighted with attractive 比之間愈發突顯玉石透淨質地。巧匠高能，重現仙鹿自然靈
dark russet streaks. This naturally occurring contrast in the 動姿態，栩栩如真，端雅脫俗，並寄意道家長壽不老之祝
colour of the stone accentuates its translucency and purity. 願。玉鹿不僅工藝臻善，賞心悅目，通體潤澤輝耀，柔滑適
The skilled artisan succeeded in capturing the lively spirit of 手，玩賞之間，令人愛不釋手。
the creature, whilst conveying the Daoist essence of longevity
and immortality. The silky finish of the present piece gives it 存世宋代玉鹿甚罕，其中與本品最為相近之例現藏倫敦大英
an extremely tactile quality.
博物館，亦為白玉，間有白絮，踞鹿姿勢與現例相同，首昂
It is extremely rare to find a Song dynasty jade carving of 微後傾，雙角點背，三足收於身下，前左足半抬，惟不同處
a deer, but there is a closely related example in the British 乃博物館藏例身綴短細線刻劃鹿毛，及身軀散布細線刻星狀
Museum, London. It is also carved from a pebble of white 紋飾，描寫鹿身斑點。此例著錄甚多，曾展出於《中國肖生
jade, with the same posture of head held high and slightly
玉雕》，香港藝術館，香港，1996年，編號110，並錄於羅
tilted backwards, antlers resting on the back, left front leg half
森，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》，
raised and the rest folded underneath the body. It is incised
倫敦，1995年，圖版26:13，此處作者述及鹿身星紋或屬宋
with fine lines to denote the fur and with tiny stars dotted on
以後之特徵。1962年，北京師範大學施工時，出土一件相類
its body to represent the deer’s spots, differing slightly from
玉鹿，斷代北宋，鹿角做靈芝狀，四足收於腹下，鹿身打磨
the current jade deer. The British Museum example has been
extensively published, including the exhibition catalogue 光潤柔膩，與本器相似，載於《中國玉器全集》，卷5，石家
Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 110, and 莊，1993年，圖版122，現貯北京首都博物館。
in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade. From Neolithic to the
Qing, London, 1995, pl. 26: 13, in which Rawson mentioned 鹿形玉雕可溯至唐代，道家學說納靈鹿於龍、鳳等神瑞異獸
that the incised star feature may place it at a later date. A 之列，進而盛行。參考一件唐代青玉臥鹿，尺寸較小，頭頂
related but much larger celadon jade deer was unearthed 以玉皮琢雕珍珠盤式鹿角，現藏北京故宮博物院，錄於，同
at Beijing Normal University in 1962, dated to the Northern 上出處，圖版38。倫敦大英博物館藏一片臥鹿玉牌，斷為唐
Song Dynasty, with lingzhi-shaped horns, four legs all tucked 代，姿態與本品相類，前左腳半抬，扇形鹿角，較寬長，著
underneath the body, yet with a silky finish like the present
錄於羅森，前述出處，圖版25:5。
piece. It is published in Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete
collection of Chinese jade], vol. 5, Shijiazhuang, 1993, pl. 122,
and is now in the Capital Museum, Beijing.
Jade carvings of deer can be found as early as the Tang
dynasty, when they began to be widely associated with Daoist
notions of immortal worlds, amongst other mythical animals
such as dragons and phoenix. Compare a Tang-dynasty
example of a crouching deer, of celadon jade, in the collection
of the Palace Museum, Beijing, smaller in size and with a flat,
oval-shaped horn on the top of its head, illustrated ibid., pl.
38. The British Museum, London, has a plaque of a crouching
deer, dated to the Tang dynasty, with a similar posture of
lifting its front left leg, slightly larger in size, with a fan shaped
horn on its head, published in Rawson, op.cit., pl. 25:5.

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