A fine very pale greenish-white jade incense burner and cover

Late Qing Dynasty

Footnotes

清晚期 痕都斯坦式青白玉雕活環香薰

The master carver chose to display the fine translucent quality of the jade stone as the principal element, enhanced by the graceful lobed lotus form, and elevated by the openwork carved classic scroll and lotus blossom design restricted to the borders and handles – displaying both the superb jade stone and technical craftsmanship of the carver. The present lot with its delicate thin walls, lobed form and elaborate design, shows the distinct influence of Mughal jades on Chinese jade carving. This was very much due to the favour shown by the Qianlong Emperor to such jades which he termed 'Hindustan' jades; see for example a Mughal jade lobed bowl and two Mughal jade lobed boxes and covers, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Teng Shu-p'ing, Exquisite Beauty - Islamic Jades, Taipei, 2007, nos.60 and 125-126.

Compare a related white jade incense burner and cover, Qing dynasty, illustrated by R.Keverne, ed., Jade, London, 1995, p.184, fig.140 (right); and see also a related pale green-white jade incense burner and cover, 19th century, in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, illustrated by J.C.Y.Watt, Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, New York, 1980, p.177, no.151.

白玉偏青。胎薄體輕，蓋、器身呈花瓣形，鏤空蓋鈕，下承四足。口沿鏤空雕莨苕紋一周，器身飾雙耳，上配活環。此香薰仿痕式玉雕。乾隆皇帝曾對伊斯蘭玉器厚愛，並將其統稱為「痕都斯坦玉」，從清宮檔案可知，至乾隆晚年，眾多帶有伊斯蘭風格的玉器，成為官員進貢首選。在這樣的市場需求下，中國玉工亦熱衷吸收伊斯蘭風格，對十八世紀晚期至十九世紀的玉器風格長生變化。進貢至清宮痕玉之例，可見台北國立故宮博物院所藏三件痕玉香薰，《國色天香：伊斯蘭玉器》，台北，2007年，編號60及125，126。

另見一例，著錄於R.Keverne，《Jade》，倫敦，1995年，頁184，圖140（右）；以及哈佛大學福格藝術博物館藏一件十九世紀痕式青玉雕香薰，見J.C.Y.Watt，《Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing》，紐約，1980年，頁177，編號151。