A very fine white jade flaring vase, gu

Qianlong

Footnotes

清乾隆 白玉雕如意紋花觚

Provenance:
Jade House, Hong Kong, purchased on 21 March 1964
A Canadian private collection
Sold in our London Rooms, 8 November 2012, lot 188

來源：
Jade House，香港，購於1964年3月21日
加拿大私人收藏
倫敦邦瀚斯，2012年11月8日，拍品編號188

This flaring white jade gu vase exemplifies the personal taste of the Qianlong Emperor, and is notable for the exceptional quality of the white jade stone.

The elegant form is inspired by the archaic bronze gu ritual wine vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, reinterpreted by the Qing dynasty master carver into a smaller exquisite version of antiquity. This was in accordance with the Qianlong Emperor's wish to 'restore ancient ways', suggesting that jade carvers turn to antiquity for models, which would enable them to imbue their designs with simplicity and honesty, and so achieve refinement and elegance. The 'ancient ways' referred to the intrinsic values of sincerity, simplicity, and happy exuberance; see Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, p.49.

The present lot is undecorated except for the low-relief carving of the auspicious ruyi interlinked-heads around the central section, accentuating the pure quality of the jade stone, allowing the beholder to revel in its graceful form and lustrous white tone. A related zhadou, Qing dynasty, inscribed Daoguang yu yong, of slightly smaller size and entirely plain, is illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 10 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl.210.

A related white jade zhadou, 18th century, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3565.

白玉玉質，撇口，鼓腹，高足。玲瓏雅緻。器身大部分素面，肩部浮雕如意形鎖相扣，慕古追新，頗有創意。

此器形制取自上古青銅觚。乾隆帝慕古求新，一再強調「事不師古說聞匪」，認為古典器物樸素、精純、高雅、有意涵，為此曾命梁詩正等人纂修《西清古鑑》，記錄清代宮廷所收藏商周至唐代青銅器過千件，繼而為玉匠提供靈感，詳閱張麗端著《宮廷之雅：清代仿古及畫意玉器特展圖錄》，台北，1997年，頁49。

參看北京故宮博物院藏一件白玉素面小唾盂式瓶，底刻「道光御用」款，著錄於《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編10清代玉器》，北京，2011年，編號210。

另見香港佳士得曾售出十八世紀一例，2014年5月28日，拍品編號3565。