A very rare Imperial yellow jade archaistic 'trompe l'oeil' ewer, guang

Qianlong

Footnotes

清乾隆 黃玉仿古錦袱紋觥

Provenance:
An English private collection, and thence by descent

來源：
英國私人舊藏，後由家族繼承

The yellow jade ewer is exceptional for its rich honey-yellow tone heightened with warm chestnut inclusions. The master carver celebrated the rare stone by leaving it plain except for the subtle and imaginative 'trompe l'oeil' decoration simulating a silk sash tied around the body displaying masterful fluid contours, mirrored in the sweeping curvature of the spout and rim.

The appreciation of yellow jade is recorded as early as 1388 in the Gegu Yaolun (格古要論) written by Cao Zhao, and translated by Sir Percival David in Chinese Connoisseurship: The Ko Ku Yao Lun: The Essential Criteria of Antiquities, London, 1971, p.120, where it is noted with regard to the category of yellow jade (huang yu), that: 'stones with the colour of the chestnut kernel, known also as pure (literally 'sweet') yellow, are the most valuable...'.

The ewer is a superb example of archaism inspired by the form of archaic bronze guang wine vessels, but reinterpreted by the Qing jade ateliers in the taller shape and sweeping contours. The Qianlong Emperor proposed to 'restore ancient ways', referring to the view of ancient culture as having intrinsic qualities of sincerity, simplicity and happy exuberance. For this purpose, he instructed the Court to collect drawings of antiques, such as the Scroll of Antiquities in the Percival David Foundation (now in the British Museum), which were provided to the craftsmen; 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 present ewer is exceptionally rare for the 'trompe l'oeil' silk cloth tied around the body of the ewer. The Qianlong Emperor is famous for his fascination of objects that simulate other materials, following on from similarly imaginative designs first introduced during the Yongzheng reign. The knotted cloth is a Japanese concept reflecting Japanese furoshiki packaging customs, and this design element is frequently used on Japanese lacquer ware. The decoration simulating a textile wrapping around the vessel appears on a variety of media made in Imperial Workshops of the Qianlong Emperor, such as porcelain, metal-bodied wares with painted enamels, cloisonné enamel, glass and wood or lacquer, which were made in very small numbers. However, such designs are even rarer in jade.

The present lot may be included in a very selected group of archaistic yellow jade vessels made during the Qianlong reign. Compare three related archaistic yellow jade vessels, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 10 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, nos.14 (fang hu and cover, Qing dynasty), 47 (zun, Qianlong mark and period, of rectangular form with a dragon handle), and 54 (zun, Qing dynasty, in the form of a gu vessel supported on three sheep); and see also a yellow jade fang hu and cover, Qing dynasty, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Chang Li-tuan, ibid., no.22.

A related yellow jade archaistic ewer and cover, Qianlong, but without the 'trompe l'oeil' design, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2014, lot 3728.

此黃玉觥玉質溫潤，有褐色糖沁。工匠巧妙借用玉石石紋，巧雕一錦袱系於器身，紋飾富有新意，極具巧思，實為難得。

黃玉自古備受珍視，明人曹昭在《格古要論》中提及：「黃玉如粟者為貴謂之甘黃玉焦黃者次之。」此黃玉觥之式樣，取上古青銅酒器，再加以創新，巧雕錦袱，既印證清高宗乾隆繼承宋明以來慕古的傳統思想，又凸顯宮廷玉雕之巧工。乾隆帝認為古典器物樸素、精純、高雅、有意涵，並以《西清古鑑》為校本，交玉工命其按古彝器樣式雕刻玉器，見《宮廷之雅：清代仿古及畫意玉器特展圖錄》，台北，1997年，頁49-50。

錦袱紋始於清雍正年間，流行於乾隆，但常見於琺瑯器、玻璃器、瓷器，但玉器上極為少見。根據檔案記載，乾隆皇帝對自己喜愛之各類器皿，會要求造辦處專門配做錦袱包裹，或用楠木匣盛裝，並將器物的名稱、年號刻在匣蓋上，以示珍藏。可見乾隆帝對錦袱裝飾喜愛程度。

黃玉玉料珍貴，傳世品中多見用於仿古器，見北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏少數幾件黃玉雕仿古器，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14（黃玉獸耳銜環壺），編號47（清乾隆黃玉龍耳尊），編號54（清黃玉三羊尊），見台北國立故宮博物院藏一件黃玉獸面鈁，同前著錄，編號22。

香港蘇富比曾售出一例素面黃玉觥，可資參考，2014年10月8日，拍品編號3728。