Page 90 - Nov 28 Chinese Art Hong Kong

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 紳士藏品
Lots 26 - 27

26
A RARE PALE GREEN AND RUSSET JADE ‘BITTER-MELON’ Compare a related white and russet jade bitter-melon carving with
LINKED BOX AND COVER similar designs of a knobbly surface, ridged leaves and gnarled stalks,
Qianlong Qing dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collection in the Palace
The box and cover naturalistically carved as a bitter gourd, skilfully Museum: Jade 9 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, p.174, pl.164. This type
carved around the exterior in varying levels of relief with an elaborate of box and cover also appears in other kind of fruit, such as the pale
knobbly surface containing irregular bosses, the fruit borne on a green and russet jade peach-shaped box and cover, 18th century,
gnarled stalk further issuing curling tendrils with a naturalistic beetle in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by M.Wilson,
perching on the delicately ridged leaves, the stalk linked with a loop Chinese Jades, London, 2004, p.56, pl.58.
handle, the stone of pale celadon tone highlighted with attractive
russet inclusions, wood stand. The bitter-melon is considered as a symbol of strength and endurance;
11.2cm (4 3/8in) wide (2). the beetle, jia chong, means armour or shell, but also ‘to come first’ or
‘top’ as it is also the first of the ten Heavenly Stems in cyclical dating;
HK$150,000 - 200,000 combined, the present box may represent the auspicious wish for
US$19,000 - 26,000 being top in strength and endurance.

A related pale green-white jade ‘bitter-melon’ box and cover, 18th/19th
清乾隆 青白玉雕錦荔枝活環蓋盒 century, was sold at Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1279.

Provenance: 蓋盒作仿生瓜果式，並以活環相連。外壁雕瓜葉及甲蟲，並借皮色作
An English private collection 裝飾，細緻生動。苦瓜可能由於名稱不雅，在清宮檔案中常以「錦荔
枝」為名記載，參看北京故宮藏一件清白玉雕苦瓜擺件，著錄於
來源： 《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編9清代玉器》，北京，2011年，頁174
英國私人收藏 ，編號164；以瓜果為式樣的玉製蓋盒，見維多利亞及阿爾伯特博物
館藏一件十八世紀青白玉雕壽桃蓋盒，著錄於M.Wilson，《Chinese
The box and cover demonstrates the remarkable skill and Jades》，倫敦，2004年，頁56，圖版58。
craftsmanship practiced in the jade ateliers reaching its peak during
the Qianlong reign. The two perfectly fitting halves of the bitter melon 苦瓜有「堅韌刻苦」、「苦盡甘來」之意，甲蟲在玉雕中則諧音
and interlocking loose loop-handle joining them together are all carved 「甲」，有「富甲天下」之意，可見此蓋盒設計之巧思。
from a single block of jade, which would have required consummate
skill and precision. 見紐約佳士得曾售出一件十八/十九世紀青白玉雕苦瓜式蓋盒，2016
年9月16日，拍品編號1279。

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