A large white jade 'Three Friends of Winter' teapot and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白玉歲寒三友夔柄茶壺

Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2001, lot 704.

香港佳士得2001年10月30日，編號704

A Romance with Jade: From the De An Tang Collection, Yongshougong, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 97.

《玉緣：德安堂藏玉》，永壽宮，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號97

Skilfully carved with the ‘Three Friends of Winter’, this sophisticated jade teapot is remarkable not only for the quality of the white stone, which is evidenced by its evenness of tone and emphasised by the subtle low-relief carving technique, but also for the virtuosity of the craftsmen. Due to the lengthy and painstaking process of hollowing out the globular vessel and particularly the tapering spout, vessels of this type are technically demanding and not many were created.

Pine, bamboo, and plum are called the ‘three friends of winter’ in China, and together they represent the ideal characteristics of a scholar-gentleman who can thrive even in the harshness of adversity. These symbols of virtue became a popular theme in diverse fields of Chinese art, such as painting, ceramics and lacquerware. A celadon jade ewer carved with this motif is preserved in the Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no. gu-yu-2055). Created in the mid to late Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the Taipei ewer is of smaller size, measuring 14.9 cm in height, and of compressed form. The present ewer, compared to the Ming prototype, was carved from lustrous white jade, a material which became available in larger quantities from Khotan jade mines during the Qianlong reign (1736-95). The ‘three friends of winter’ motif continued to be valued then, as demonstrated by a celadon jade brush pot preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. gu-94060). The Beijing vessel is not only intricately incised with the three plants, but also carved in gold with the Qianlong Emperor’s handwriting of the four characters sui han san you (‘three friends of winter’), indicating the importance of this motif to the Emperor.

The number of jade ewers listed in the Qing court inventory is very limited: it includes one green jade ‘lotus’ covered ewer preserved in the Western Warmth Chamber, and a celadon jade ‘melon’ covered ewer in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, today are two ewers of similar form to the present piece: a smaller vessel with handle sculpted in the form of chi dragons and topped with a lotus-shaped knob, but its body decorated with butterflies and flower scrolls, illustrated in Yang Boda ed., Chinese Jades throughout the Ages – Connoisseurship of Chinese Jades, vol. 11: Qing Dynasty, Chicago and San Francisco, 1996, pl. 7; and one with a bud-form finial, but the rounded body carved with cloud patterns (accession no. gu-103594).

蓋壺玉質白淨，淺浮雕巧琢「歲寒三友」圖，展現玉匠高超技藝。玉壺器形繁複費工，圓腹掏膛，壺流角度等等，均非易事，因此數量甚稀。

歲寒三友，松、竹、梅，象徵文人風骨，無畏寒霜艱辛，仍能盛放茁壯。此題材盛行於中國藝術，常見於繪畫、陶瓷、漆器，如台北故宮藏一件明代中晚期青玉歲寒三友圖執壺（館藏編號：故玉2055），高度14.9公分。與故宮藏品相較，本品玉質更為亮潔，乃乾隆帝平定回部之後，所得大量新疆和闐玉料而來。北京故宮博物院藏一柄青玉筆筒，亦綴三友紋（館藏編號：故94060），並銘乾隆御書「歲寒三友」，足證高宗對於三友紋之喜愛。

清宮所藏玉茶壺，為數甚少，如原陳設於養心殿一件碧玉蓮紋西廂記壺，及一件青玉瓜稜式壺。現今北京故宮博物院藏二玉執壺，類同本品：其一尺寸較小，壺把雕作螭龍式，蓮苞鈕，壺身琢花蝶紋，錄於楊伯達編，《華夏古玉：鑑賞篇：第11卷：集大成的清代玉器》，芝加哥與三藩市，1996年，圖版7；還有一例，壺身飾雲紋，蓮苞式蓋鈕，館藏編號：故103594。