Page 22 - Fine Chinese Works of Art Bonhams Hong Kong May 2018

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A FINE CARVED BAMBOO ‘DOUBLE POMEGRANATE’ GROUP The splitting pomegranate is a popular subject in Chinese art as it
18th century forms a pun, liukai baizi 榴開百子, symbolising a wish for the birth of
Naturalistically carved with the two fruit borne on a gnarled leafy many children, especially boys. It is rare to find a bamboo carving of
stem curling around the globular body, the ripe fruit split to reveal the similar form; compare however a similarly shaped white jade double
multitude of seeds with a small bloom at its top, wood stand. pomegranate group, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the
8.8cm (3 1/2in) long (2). Palace Museum: Jade 9 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.162. See
also a white jade pomegranate group, 18th century, included in the
HK$40,000 - 60,000 Virtuous Treasures: Chinese Jades for the Scholar’s Table exhibition,
US$5,100 - 7,600 Hong Kong, 2008, pl.115. See also a related amber carving of two
finger-citrons, Qianlong, illustrated by Spink & Son Ltd., A Selection of
Oriental Works of Art, circa 1920-30s, p.40, no.341.
十八世紀 竹根雕石榴
A related but slightly larger bamboo root ‘pomegranate’ box and cover,
17th/18th century, was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4 April 2012, lot
3009.

石榴以竹根雕成，立體雕相連雙石榴，其下有枝，其間有榴花。石
榴腹部皮已破開，露出石榴籽。石榴為清代宮廷器物常見題材，一
果多籽，藉以喻「多子」，表達了「榴開百子」、代代綿延的吉祥寓
意。同類型的竹雕石榴非常罕見，類似於本器造型的雕刻可參考北京
故宮博物院藏一件白玉石榴，收錄於《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編
9清》，北京，2011年，編號162。另參看一件十八世紀白玉石榴，
展於香港大學美術博物館《閣有天珍：中國文房玉雕》展覽中，香
港，2008年，圖版115。再參照一乾隆琥珀雕佛手，收錄於斯賓克，
《A Selection of Oriental Works of Art》，約1920-30年代，頁40，編
號341。

同一題材的竹雕作品，可參考香港蘇富比售出一件十七/十八世紀竹雕
石榴蓋盒，2012年4月4日，拍品編號3009。
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