Page 72 - Bonhams Hong Kong The Skinner Moon Flasks

Flower-shaped agate bowls of this early period are exceptionally rare 年代較早之瑪瑙製葵花式盌非常少見，出版在冊者更是寥寥可數，見
with few published attributed to this early date. See a lobed agate 北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件宋代葵花式盌，底部後刻「嘉慶御玩」
‘mallow’ bowl, Song dynasty, bearing a later incised Jiaqing mark, 楷書款，以及另一件宋代葵花式杯，著錄於《故宮博物院藏品大系：
and another lobed agate ‘mallow’ bowl and stand, Song dynasty, 玉器編5》，北京，2011年，頁82-83，圖版73-74。這種七瓣葵花口
illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 設計亦在宋代漆器上可見，見《宋元の美 : 伝来の漆器を中心に》，
5. Tang, Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Beijing, 2011, pp.82-83, 東京，根津美術館，2004年，圖版19-20。另見林業強編，《中國漆
pls.73-74. In their lobed mallow form they are related to lobed wares 藝兩千年》，香港，1993年，圖版17。
produced in lacquer; for examples of seven-lobed mallow-shaped
lacquer dishes, Song dynasty, see: Sō Gen no bi: denra no shikki o 此瑪瑙盌上嵌銀鎏金螭龍耳，其風格與明代玉雕雙龍耳杯非常接
chūshin ni, Tokyo, Nezu Bijutsukan, 2004, pls.19-20; and P.Y.K. Lam, 近，見《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編5》，北京，2011年，圖版
ed., 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Hong Kong, 1993, pl.17. 117-119、123-126、133、135-136、139-141、147及148（此玉杯
龍身陰刻紋飾與此銀鎏金螭龍類似）。四川彭州市宋代窖藏中出土
The remarkable silver chi dragon handles and mount, with traces of 一件宋代銀螭龍紋銀杯，現藏於彭州市博物館，其螭龍表現手法亦
gilt, are similar in style to handles on Ming dynasty jade cups, such as 可資比較，見《宋元の美 : 伝来の漆器を中心に》，東京，根津美術
those illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: 館，2004年，頁183-184，圖版480。
Jade 7 Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pls.117-119, 123-126, 133,
135-136, 139-141, 147 and 148 (compare also the details on the 瑪瑙製器皿在清宮中似乎亦受到寵愛，在雍正二年至雍正七年之間，
dragon handles carved on this cup). It is also interesting to compare 清宮《活計檔》中就有對雍正皇帝下旨製作或者改作瑪瑙器皿的記
the mounts on the present bowl to a silver cup, 12th century, with a 錄，其中很多都透露出雍正皇帝對於瑪瑙器皿素雅、簡潔的線條以及
related high-relief chi dragon clambering over the sides and rim, found 注重瑪瑙天然紋理的審美概念。例如雍正五年十月十二日，「郎中海
in a hoard dated to circa AD 1190 in Pengzhou, Chengdu, Sichuan 望持出：花瑪瑙酒圓一件。奉旨著將口上不圓處收拾。」清宮舊藏帶
Province, currently in the Pengzhou Museum, illustrated in Sō Gen 有雍正年款的瑪瑙器，見馮明珠著，《雍正：清世宗文物大展》，台
no bi: denra no shikki o chūshin ni, Tokyo, Nezu Bijutsukan, 2004, 北，2009年，頁235-245；另見北京故宮博物院藏兩例，楊伯達，
pp.183-184, pl.480. 《中國玉器全集》，河北，2005年，頁553及550，圖10及62。

The appreciation of the agate stone saw a revival during the
Yongzheng reign; records in the archives of the Imperial Jade
Workshops, yuzuo, dated 1724-1729, noted that the Yongzheng
emperor ordered for agate brush washers and bowls to be kept
undecorated in order to show the original pattern of the agate
stone; pieces with ‘intricate’ designs or of unsatisfactory quality
were rejected and sent back to the Imperial Palace Workshops. The
Imperial collections in Taipei and Beijing hold a number of extant
agate vessels, bearing the Yongzheng mark and of the period; see
Feng Mingzhu, Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and
His Times, Taipei, 2009, pp.235-245; and in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, an agate cup and dish; are illustrated by Yang Boda,
Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji, Hebei, 2005, pp.553 and 550, nos.10 and 62.

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