A yellow jade 'dragon' rhyton Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 黃玉龍首盃

Collection of Gerald Godfrey.

Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 1995, lot 903.

高福履收藏

香港佳士得1995年10月30日，編號903

The present cup is impressive for the use of the highly esteemed yellow jade material and the elegantly carved form which references the past. Yellow jade was much favoured by the Qing court for its association with the imperial colour yellow. Since the Ming dynasty, it was recognised by scholars and connoisseurs as one of the most valued variations of nephrite. In his Yan xian qing shang jian / Refined Enjoyment of Elegant Leisure compiled in 1591, the dramatist-collector Gao Lian noted, ‘Of all jade materials, yellow stones with a mellow tone are the best and mutton-white ones come second’. Because of the rarity of the stone, brownish colourings were often worked into a piece, as seen on the present lot, to increase the overall size and show the carver’s great respect for the treasured material. Compare a related yellow jade rhyton, carved with a chilong, archaistic scrolls and an inverted dragon head with closed jaws, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Jiu-fang Li, Chinese Jades throughout the Ages – Connoisseurship of Chinese Jades, vol. 11: Qing Dynasty, Chicago and San Francisco, 1996, pl. 45.

Jade cups in the form of horns appeared in antiquity and continued to be appreciated until the Qing dynasty. See a Western Han prototype, excavated from the tomb of the Nanyue King Zhao Mo (r. 137-122 BC) located in Guangzhou, a celadon jade rhyton carved with a kui dragon below its mouth and spiral patterns in the background, the base with a bifurcated and striated tail, but lacking the upturned dragon head of the present piece, included in the exhibition Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue, Museum of the Western Han Tomb of Nanyue King, Guangzhou, and Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1991, cat. no. D44. From around the Song dynasty, rhytons were carved with a mythical animal head at the base; see a smaller pale caramel-brown jade vessel, formerly in the Cunliffe Collection, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society’s exhibition The Arts of the Sung Dynasty, London, 1960, cat. no. 252, and sold at Bonhams London, 11th November 2002, lot 1, and again in these rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 3137. For an 18th-century example closely related to the present piece, see a smaller vessel of light brown tone, sold in our New York rooms, 23rd September 1995, lot 232.

此件取黃玉、採龍形以成角盃，用料考究，形制仿古。因「黃」與「皇」諧音，黃玉備受清宮青睞。明代以來，文人雅士多尊黃玉為玉中魁首。明人高濂，工於劇作，兼通收藏，1591年撰《燕閒清賞箋》，道「玉以甘黃為上，羊脂次之」。因材料稀貴，黃玉器多添褐色料以充盈尺寸，突顯匠心，此盃亦如是。參考一黃玉角盃，尺寸稍大，雕飾螭龍，龍首回望，龍口閉合，藏北京故宮博物院，錄於李久芳，《華夏古玉：鑑賞篇》，卷11：集大成的清代玉器，芝加哥及舊金山，1996年，圖版45。

玉角盃由來已久，自古至清，歷代不絕。比較一西漢例，南越趙眜（公元前137-122年在位）墓出土，地屬今廣州，青玉造，盃身雕刻夔龍，盃底作龍尾狀，分為兩股，飾以條紋，然不作上揚龍首，與此盃有別，展於《南越王墓玉器》，西漢南越王博物館，廣州，及香港中文大學文物館，香港，1991年，編號D44。約自宋代起，角盃底部乃作獸首形狀；比較一淺褐玉例，尺寸較小，肯理夫勳爵舊藏，展於東方陶瓷學會，《The Arts of the Sung Dynasty》，倫敦，1960年，編號252，曾先後售於倫敦邦瀚斯2002年11月11日，編號1，及香港蘇富比2012年10月9日，編號3137。另一例，十八世紀造，頗似此件，尺寸稍小，色呈淺褐，售於紐約蘇富比1995年9月23日，編號232。