
A very rare grey jade circular box and cover Han Dynasty
Sold for HK$437,500 inc. premium
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A very rare grey jade circular box and cover
The slightly domed cover delicately carved with a whorl motif as the central medallion surrounded by four leaf-shaped petals, further encircled by a border incised with four stylised curling phoenix, all enclosed within narrow raised bands, the sides of the box and cover carved with linked relief spirals, the cover mounted with a metal rim, the pale green stone suffused with grey and buff inclusions. 10.6cm (4 1/8in) diam. (2).
Footnotes
漢代 玉蓋盒
Provenance:
The Sze Yuan Tang Collection
來源:
思源堂收藏
The present box and cover is exceptionally rare. Compare, however, a closely related jade box and cover, Western Han dynasty, excavated in Beishantou, Chaohu, Anhui Province, in the Chaohu Municipal Museum, similarly carved with a central medallion, but with the external border carved with C-scrolls, illustrated by Gu Fang in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol.6, Beijing, 2010, p.104; see also a related rock crystal box and cover, Han dynasty, illustrated by Littleton and Hennessy Ltd., The Art of Scent, London, November 2010, no.1.
Boxes such as these, made in prized materials, were probably used to store incense.
玉質青白色,有褐色沁。器由蓋、身兩部分組成,蓋身口沿內嵌一圈銅箍。蓋面中心飾柿蒂紋,外圈飾獸面紋,並間以四組鳳鳥紋,蓋及盒外壁飾勾連渦紋。整器形之規整,雕工細緻。
對比安徽省巢湖市北山頭西漢墓出土一件西漢獸面紋玉盒,現藏巢湖市博物館,除紋飾稍有變化外,器形及尺寸與本拍品相當,見《中國出土玉器全集6》,北京,2010年,頁104;另見漢代水晶蓋盒一例,形制與紋飾類似,見Littleton and Hennessy,《The Art of Scent》,倫敦,2010年11月,編號1。