Page 155 - Sotheby's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works of Art, Oct. 9, 2022

3670

THE VICTOR SHAW COLLECTION OF CHINESE JADES 清十八世紀 白玉胡人洗象
A WHITE JADE 'ELEPHANT AND FOREIGNER' 白玉閃青，帶皮色，玉質溫潤。圓雕三胡人，手持
GROUP, 帚、刷以及寳盆，分別靠騎於象首兩側及象後背。
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY 佛教認為，象有大力，表法身堪能荷負，無有煩惱
10.8 cm 雜染，因而為白色。「象」與「祥」諧音，具有「吉
祥如意」，胡人騎於象上為之清掃，「掃象」即「掃
HK$ 300,000-400,000 相」，意指破除對一切名利的執著。
US$ 38,300-51,000
胡人騎象題材在清宮玉雕陳設器中流行，見北京故宮
The subject matter of figures tending to an elephant forms 博物院藏兩例，著錄於《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器
multiple layers of meaning and auspiciousness. The phrase
'ride an elephant' (qi xiang), has a similar pronunciation as ji 編9清》，北京，2011年，圖版136-137。另見青白玉
xiang, meaning 'good fortune'. Furthermore, the boy atop the 雕一例，亦帶有皮色，見《故宮博物院文物珍品全
elephant is holding a broom and is thus cleaning or washing 集：玉器（III）》，香港，1995年，圖97。
the elephant, sao xiang. The message is contained in the pun
since the pronunciation of 'elephant' and 'image' is the same
in Chinese (xiang) and illustrates the Buddhist concept of
sweeping away the phenomena of the outside world, which
are thought to be mere illusions.
Compare two related white jade carvings from the Qing
Court Collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections
in the Palace Museum: Jade, vol. 9: Qing Dynasty, Beijing,
2011, pls 136-137; and another pale green and russet jade
example, also from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in
The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum:
Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 97.

152 FOR COMPLETE CATALOGUING 詳盡圖錄內容請瀏覽 SOTHEBYS.COM/HK1265 153