Page 78 - The Parry Collection Bonhams London November 2 2021

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A FINE AND RARE MUGHAL WHITE JADE QUATRELOBED
SPICE BOX AND COVER
India, 18th century
The box expertly carved and hollowed with four cylindrical
compartments with straight walls, supporting a gently-curved lid
carved with stylised leaves surmounted by a flower-bud finial, the
cover’s underside carved with a central flowerhead issuing four stylised
leaves, the smooth translucent stone of even white tone.
9cm (3 1/2in) long. (2).

£30,000 - 50,000
CNY270,000 - 450,000

十八世紀 痕都斯坦式白玉雕花瓣形分格蓋盒

Provenance:
Parry Collection, London, and thence by descent

來源：
倫敦Parry家族收藏，並由後人保存迄今

The present box and cover is an exquisite example of Mughal jade 白玉質，琢作四瓣花式盒，略帶方形，蓋面中央浮雕葉紋，立雕花蕾
carving at its very finest. The master carver accomplished a perfectly 為蓋鈕，內部隔作四格。本品玉質色澤勻淨，器壁通透，線型流暢，
balanced quatrelobed form in the box, to properly match the four- 打磨精到，且通體除立雕花鈕外無附加紋飾，充分凸顯玉材自然之
domed cover. The superb white jade stone was greatly admired by the 美，是痕都斯坦玉雕精品。
carver focusing on form with minimal decoration allowing the viewer to
enjoy the natural quality of the translucent white jade stone. 痕都斯坦即指蒙兀兒帝國（1526-1857）；1768年，乾隆皇帝親自撰
《天竺五印度考訛》一文，考證發音，定名「痕都斯坦」。在蒙兀兒
Indian Mughal jades found their way to central Asia and thus to the 帝國治下，伊斯蘭玉器逐漸形成獨特的裝飾風格，並於十八世紀後期
Imperial Court in Beijing, where they were sent as tribute from inner- 經新疆源源不斷貢入清廷，令乾隆皇帝大為激賞。
Asian regions. The Qianlong Emperor was a great admirer of these so-
called ‘Hindustan’ jades and praised them for their exquisite lightness, 相類玉盒可見紐約大都會藝術博物館館藏一例鑲金嵌寶帶托盤四格
thin walls and florid decoration. The Emperor’s passion for Mughal 玉盒，藏品編號02.18.777a–c，形似本例。另見一例青白玉分格盒，
jades led him in 1768, to write Tianzhu wuyindu kao’e, a scholarly text 收錄於鄧淑蘋著，《國色天香——伊斯蘭玉器》，國立故宮博物院，
on the geography of Hindustan and the derivation of its name. The 台北，2007年，頁112，編號131。形如本例的分隔蓋盒多為蒙兀
area he identified is today northern India, with the city of Agra at its 兒精英階層盛裝香料之用，參S.Aziz Natnoo著，〈Betel-Leaf (Pan)
centre. Subsequently, Mughal jades came to have a large influence on Culture: A Study of Mughal India〉，收錄於《國際人文與社會科學期
jade production in China. 刊》，卷五，第一輯，2018年1-2月，頁39。

See a gem-set jade quatrelobed box and cover in the Metropolitan 紐約佳士得曾售一件約1740–1800年玉分格盒，2019年6月19日，
Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.02.18.777a–c). See also a gold- 拍品編號198，可為比對。
embellished Mughal jade quatrelobed box and cover, in the National
Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Teng Shu-p’ing, Exquisite
Beauty: Islamic Jades, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2007,
p.111, no.129; and a further related semi-precious-stone-inlaid jade
quatrelobed box and cover illustrated in ibid., p.112, no.131.

Compartmented jade spice boxes, such as the present lot, were
produced for the Mughal elite, to hold cardamom pods or stuffed
betel-leaves (pan) which were used to colour the lips red as a
cosmetic, or to be chewed as then was believed to freshen the mouth
and help digestion; see S.Aziz Natnoo, ‘Betel-Leaf (Pan) Culture: A
Study of Mughal India in International Journal of Humanities and Social
Sciences, vol 5, issue 1, January-February 2018, p.39.

Compare with a related quatrefoil carved jade box, north India, circa 1740-
1800, which was sold at Christie’s New York, 19 June 2019, lot 198.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
76 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.