Page 80 - Christie's Important Chinese Works of Art, May 31 to June 1, 2023 Hong Kong

PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE SOUTHEAST ASIAN COLLECTION
重要東南亞私人珍藏
3040
AN EXCEPTIONAL AND FINE LARGE PAIR OF 清乾隆 白玉萬年青福壽雙全如意一對
WHITE JADE RUYI
來源:
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795) 香港蘇富比，1983年11月14-15日，拍品367號
Each sceptre is carved on the ruyi-head in low relief with a spray
of nandina berries, a bat in flight to one side bearing a tasselled 清乾隆以前，西北地區非中原疆土，和闐美玉產地遙遠，一塊難求；是以中
Wan emblem, the border with two chilong confronted on a Shou 國玉器一般以體積較小的文人器、墜飾、吊牌、小器皿為主，少見大型器物。
medallion, the shaft carved at the end with a bat suspending a loose 直至乾隆二十四年（1759），準噶爾之役結束，乾隆皇帝先後平定準噶爾及
ring. The stone is of an even greenish-white tone with a soft polish. 大小和卓之亂，西北全境盡入清版圖，稱西域新疆，成就乾隆皇帝「十全武
15¿ in. (38.5 cm.) long (2) 功」之首，亦令新疆和闐白玉得以源源不絕引入中原。從此，中原工匠得以
雕琢更多體大且玉質上乘的玉件，造型設計越見精湛，如本對大型白玉如
HK$4,000,000-6,000,000 US$520,000-770,000 意即是當中佼佼者。
P R O V E NAN C E : 本對玉如意不止尺寸碩大、質地潔白厚潤，更難能可貴的是一對均從同一塊
Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 14-15 November 1983, lot 367
原石採挖，可以想像原料的龐大及難求。玉如意於清代常作為賀禮給皇帝或
Before the Qianlong period, jade carvings in China were largely confined 皇室成員祝壽，本對如意體大且湊對，極為難得，非常有可能是為當時的王
to small-sized items such as scholar’s objects, pendants, plaques and 公貴族甚至帝皇而製。
palm-sized vessels, due to the rarity of quality Khotan jades and the great
distance from their place of origin. It was not until Qianlong 24 year 香港佳士得曾拍賣一件尺寸相若的乾隆白玉大如意，可資參考；2012年5月
th
(1759), when the Qianlong Emperor successfully quelled the rebellions
of the Dzungar Khanate and the Altishahr Khojas respectively, that large 30日拍賣，拍品4115號。
swathes of land in the northwest, now modern day Xinjiang, became part
of Qing territory. From then on, abundant supply of substantial-sized,
high-quality jades from Khotan became available, enabling the production
of large jade objects made to impress and awe, such as the current pair of
superbly carved jade ruyi sceptres.
The current pair of ruyi is extraordinary not only because of its sheer size,
but also that the pair was carved out of the same boulder. One can only
imagine the remarkable size of the original boulder. It is extremely rare to
find a ruyi sceptre of this size, quality and in pairs. The ruyi sceptre, a long-
standing auspicious symbol in Chinese art, gained popularity in the Qing
dynasty when it was often used as a gift to the Emperor on his birthday.
The current pair would undoubtedly have been made for an important
imperial member, an official of high stature, or even the Emperor himself.
Compare to a large white jade ruyi of similar size, also dating to the
Qianlong period, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 4115.

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