Page 102 - The Parry Collection Bonhams London November 2 2021

Notable for its exceptionally lustrous white jade and highly refined 白玉琢制，圓身深腹，柄以攀爬於口沿之上的一尾螭龍為飾，流口位
high relief carving of sinuous chilong clambering its elegant body, the 置與螭龍柄相對。雙浮雕螭龍分飾盃身兩側，穿行於縷雲之間。
present pouring vessel counts amongst the finest jade carvings made
during the celebrated reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The exceptional 本例可謂乾隆年間玉雕器皿之佼佼者。其玉色光潔，精巧雕工在優雅
purity of the jade, particularly visible in the areas left unadorned, 蜿蜒的龍身上尤為突出。玉質之純淨在精心打磨過的素面之處表露無
smoothly polished to a lustrous sheen, here combines with the 遺。除其精湛玉工外，該匜亦融合了乾隆皇帝所推崇的復古風格。
archaistic style favoured by the Qianlong Emperor and the masterful
ingenuity of craftsmanship and design. 該器以古代青銅匜為濫觴。後者在上古時代常與青銅盤搭配，於儀禮
上供濯洗之用。盤匜搭配作為儀禮水器的使用方式興自西周，匜器也
In form and design, the present vessel is inspired by the archaic 逐漸取代了之前流行的注水器如觥、盉等，並一直延續到東周時期。
bronze water pouring vessel, yi, which was often used in conjunction 以螭龍紋為飾的西周青銅匜，可見於J.Rawson著，《The Bella and
with a pan for the ritual washing of hands. It was a late Western Zhou P.P. Chiu Collection of Ancient Chinese Bronzes》，香港，1988年，
adaptation of the gong and the he vessels, and its use continued well 圖版31。本例玉匜上的螭龍形象則可能源於漢代，參見一例漢螭龍紋
into the Eastern Zhou period; see a bronze pouring vessel, yi, Western 玉劍珌，收錄於J.Rawson著，《Chinese Jade From the Neolithic to
Zhou dynasty, cast with clambering chilong, illustrated by J.Rawson, the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁299，編號21:9。
The Bella and P.P. Chiu Collection of Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Hong
Kong, 1988, pl.31. At the same time, the depictions of sinuous chilong 乾隆皇帝筆下有八百多篇詠玉的詩文，足見其對這種材質之喜愛珍
displaying curled and bifurcated tails is inspired by the jade carving 重。加上他對古物的追慕之情，當時宮廷內按其交辦所製之復古風格
style of the Han dynasty; see a jade scabbard chape, Han dynasty, 玉雕數目龐大。乾隆一生以「復古」為念，更在作於乾隆八年（1743
carved with a pair of chilong illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade 年）的御製文《玉盃記》中以玉工所言煉玉之法比之於君子之道，並
From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.299, no.21:9. 直言「執藝以諫者，古典所不廢」讚賞玉工之德。乾隆帝曾於其在位
年間，諭令編纂《西清古鑑》以著錄清宮所藏古物。為滿足其復古趣
The Qianlong Emperor’s appreciation of jade, expressed through 味，內府工匠及被徵調而來的蘇州玉工在製作御用器皿之時，亦常
more than eight hundred of his writings, combined with his passion for 以內廷所藏古代銅器及金石版畫為參考，詳見張麗端著，《宮廷之
antiques, resulted in his commissioning significant numbers of archaistic 雅——清代仿古及畫意玉器特展圖錄》，台北，1997，頁49-50。
jade carvings for his Court. The Emperor advocated taking inspiration
from antiquity in form and design to ‘restore the ancient ways’, or the 1755-1759年，乾隆皇帝平定準葛爾部，優質玉石原料源源不斷貢入
intrinsic values of harmony, simplicity and happy exuberance. In a 清廷。而工匠在炫耀鬼斧神工之餘，也充分確保玉石與生俱來的特質
poem entitled ‘The Ballad on a Cup of Jade’, composed during the 與光澤能通過打磨在無雕飾之處充分展現出來。由此，本例無論造型
eighth year of his reign (1743), the Emperor maintained the importance 還是雕工，都實為乾隆皇帝個人復古品味與上佳玉石品質之結合。
of appreciating jade as a genuinely personal path towards virtue. The
Emperor instructed the Court to collect drawings of antiquities, such 參考位於楓丹白露宮的法國國家博物館館藏一件清乾隆螭龍紋白玉
as the Xi Qing Gu Jian (Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities). To fulfill the 匜，圖見《Jade: From Emperors to Art Deco》，巴黎，2016年，
Emperor’s ambitious project therefore, the artisans working at the 頁238，編號192。
Imperial Ateliers and in jade workshops in Suzhou were encouraged to
carefully study the remarkable archaic bronzes in the Court collection or
woodblocks depicting such antiques to draw inspiration for their new
creations; see Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special
Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei,
1997, pp.49-50.

The exceptional quality of the white jade stone which was used to
produce this vessel would have become more available for the Jade
Workshops following the Qianlong Emperor’s conquest of the Dzungar
Khanate between 1755 and 1759, where much of the jade was
sourced. The jade carver, whilst demonstrating his skills in the form and
relief carving, ensured that the magnificent quality of the stone would be
exhibited through the areas left unadorned. The present vessel therefore
encapsulates the Qianlong Emperor’s personal taste for antiquity in form
and design, combined with the superb jade material.

A related white jade archaistic pouring vessel yi carved with clambering
chilong, Qianlong, in the Musée National du Chateau de Fontainbleu,
France, is illustrated in Jade: From Emperors to Art Deco, Paris, 2016,
p.238, no.192.

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