A PALE GREEN JADE CARVING OF A SAMPAN AND FIGURES

Late Qing Dynasty

Footnotes

清晚期 青白玉雕船擺件

Provenance:
A distinguished Asian private collection

來源：
亞洲顯赫私人收藏

The subject matter of fishing boats features prominently in a wide range of media from paintings to works of art and porcelain, often associated with river and lakeside vistas, invoking the idyllic nature retreat to which the literati would aspire to retire. The famous Yuan dynasty literatus Ni Zan (1301-1374) moved into a houseboat and painted the landscapes along the rivers. Fishermen also represent one of the 'Four Noble Occupations' representing the Chinese four-layered traditional society (also including the woodcutter, farmer and scholar). The elaborate detail of the present sampan vividly captures traditional everyday activities on the fishing boat and is remarkable for the lively rendering of each figure.

See a related pale green jade boat, Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 8 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.125. See also another related white jade carving of a sampan with similar glossy polishing, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (museum no.GUYU003359). Compare also a further example, 18th century, illustrated by J.C.Y.Watt, Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, no.64; and another carving of a sampan, from the Hei-Chi Collection, illustrated in The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 2010, no.221.

玉船色青白，瑩潤剔透，取整塊玉料以圓雕、透雕及浮雕技法精雕而成。船頭圓雕一老漁翁搖槳，身後置鸕鶿兩隻，其中一隻於籃中取食，船頭及船尾各有一童子跪坐，忙於整理繩索及藤籃，船艙陰刻編織紋並鏤雕門窗，一小犬臥於船頂。

此玉船細節寫實逼真，所飾漁夫乃是古代農耕社會「漁樵耕讀」四業之一，此類漁樂題材常於繪畫、瓷器及其他藝術媒介中出現，取材於現實中平民勤懇的日常生活，形象質樸，境界自然，淡泊自如，是古代文人為之嚮往的隱逸生活。譬如元代畫家倪瓚（1301-1374）曾長居於私舫，一邊泛舟太湖，一邊將眼前所見的湖光山色入畫。

見清官舊藏清代玉船一例，載於《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編8清》，北京，2011年，編號125；及台北國立故宮博物院藏一件清代青玉雕船，其打磨、拋光與此船類似（博物館編號：故玉003359）。亦可比較西雅圖藝術博物館藏一件十八世紀玉雕漁婦圖船形擺件，著錄於屈志仁，《Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum》，西雅圖，1989年，圖64。另見香港敏求精舍熙樨收藏一例，著錄於《博古存珍：敏求精舍金禧紀年展》，香港，2010年，圖221。