A white jade 'boys' incense burner

18th century

Footnotes

十八世紀 白玉童子雙耳爐

Provenance:
The Warren G. Weitman Collection, acquired in London in the 1960s
Bonhams San Francisco, 17 December 2013, lot 8111
A distinguished Asian private collection

來源：
Warren G. Weitman 舊藏，1960年代購於倫敦
三藩市邦瀚斯，2013年12月17日，拍品編號8111
亞洲顯赫私人收藏

In scholars' gatherings, burning incense in a proper burner was usually managed by an experienced young attendant. Types and materials of incense burner vary from archaistic style to the latest fashion, from bronze to jade. Incense burners or cups decorated with a handle in the design of two boys have been popular since the Song Dynasty. Compare with a pale green jade cup with a double-boys handle, Song Dynasty, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, which is illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, Beijing, 2011, vol.5, pl.56; and a very similar white jade washer, Qing Dynasty, also in the Palace Museum, Beijing, ibid, vol.10, pl.199.

白玉質，略帶皮及石花，圓鼓腹，微扁，雙耳圓雕成童子形象攀附爐壁，童子頭頂總角，左手持如意靈芝，身著短裙，四腳略微外撇，上陰刻如意頭，全身原有塗金，今多佚失。

香事於文人雅集中不可或缺，常為經驗豐富的童子所侍奉。香爐材質多樣，金石瓷玉皆有之，樣式亦豐富，仿古與時風並存。香爐以童子形象作為雙耳，或來自於宋代以來流行的童子雙耳杯。參考一件北京故宮藏宋代白玉童子雙耳杯，見《故宮博物院藏品大系·玉器篇》，北京，2011年，卷5，編號56。又可參考一件與此極為類似的白玉童子雙耳洗，見前書，卷10， 編號199。