A very rare Imperial pale greenish-white jade-hilted knife and sheath

Qianlong yuyong four-character seal mark and of the period

Footnotes

清乾隆 御製青白玉柄短刀配青白玉鞘及銀筷
陰刻「乾隆御用」楷書款

The present lot aptly demonstrates the importance for the Qing Court of maintaining its Manchu traditions and ethnicity. The use of personal knives at meals was a distinct mark of Manchu identity; in contrast to the Han Chinese of having their meat served pre-cut, the Manchu (men and women alike), were expected when eating sacrificial pork to cut up their own meat. Knives, at times such as the present lot, were combined with other eating utensils. For a related example of a jade-handled gilt-bronze knife and gold sheath inlaid with turquoise, coral and luzurite, Qianlong mark and of the period, see Chuimei Ho and B.Bronson, Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, London, 2004, pp.197 and 201, no.248; and compare also a related pair of gold chopsticks joined by a chain, Qianlong, illustrated by Ho and Bronson, ibid., p.200, no.245; a similar jade-hilted knife and wood with ivory-inlaid sheath, also fitted with a pair of ivory chopsticks is illustrated in Imperial Life in the Qing Dynasty: Treasures from the Shenyang Palace Museum, China, Singapore, p.73.

Knives such as the present lot would have been an essential part of Imperial hunting accessories, as can be seen in a detail of painting by Giuseppe Castiglione Taking a Stag with a Mighty Arrow, circa 1760s, in the Qing Court Collection, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, depicting the Qianlong Emperor riding a horse, with a knife hanging beside a pouch suspended from a belt around his waist, illustrated in Son of Heaven in the Glory Age: Exhibition of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty, Chengdu, 2016, p.76.

The jade sheath is deftly carved in high relief with simulated mounts crowned by a bat above low relief band of ruyi-heads at the top and a ruyi-shaped blade at the bottom, bestowing auspicious wishes for long life.

A related jade-hilted knife with a gilt-bronze sheath, Qianlong, but unmarked, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2010, lot 1812; compare also a related gilt-bronze handled dagger with jadeite scabbard, 18th century, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2011, lot 3223.

此短刀為宮廷日常隨身用品，作解食刀用。整器分為玉柄解食刀、玉刀鞘以及銀製筷三部分。刀身為鋼製，細長狀，刀柄上細下粗。刀鞘亦為玉製，上雕如意紋，外壁垂直正中雕一龍首凸棱，再平行凸雕兩圈繫帶，似模仿皮質刀鞘，頗為像生。鞘背面鑽兩孔，配銀製筷一對，末一段陰刻「乾隆御用」楷書款。

此解食刀是清宮滿族飲食習俗的產物。滿人生活於我國東地區，為傳統的狩獵民族，其傳統飲食以肉類和黏性食物為主。滿人入關後，仍然保持了滿人狩獵進食的傳統，隨身帶解食刀用以分割食物。傳世品中類似的宮廷用解食刀，見北京故宮博物院藏一例，著錄於Chuimei Ho及B.Bronson，《Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong》，2004年，頁194及201，編號248；見同著錄中類似的金製對筷，頁200，編號245。瀋陽故宮博物院藏一件清代玉柄木嵌染牙鞘解食刀，刀鞘中同樣含有對筷及骨籤，見《Imperial Life in the Qing Dynasty: Treasures from the Shenyang Palace Museum, China》，新加坡，頁73。

乾隆皇帝對王公大臣遵守滿族舊例的要求非常嚴格，清史中有乾隆帝曾因怡親王不配小刀而大怒的記載。清宮繪畫中亦可見到帝王狩獵時雖然佩戴這種短刀，如北京故宮博物院藏清郎世寧繪「乾隆帝及妃威弧獲鹿圖卷」，可見乾隆帝腰間短刀，見《盛世天子—清高宗乾隆皇帝特展》，成都，2016年，頁76。

香港蘇富比曾售出一件清乾隆玉柄刀配銅鎏金刀鞘，2010年4月8日，拍品編號1812；另見香港佳士得曾售出一件銅鎏金刀柄配翡翠刀鞘短刀，2011年11月30日，拍品編號3233。