A finely carved white jade Mughal-style hexagonal vase and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白玉痕都斯坦式莨菪葉紋六方活環耳蓋壺

Christie's Hong Kong, 1st April 1992, lot 1197.

Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2000, lot 673.

香港佳士得1992年4月1日，編號1197

香港佳士得2000年10月30日，編號673

A Romance with Jade: From the De An Tang Collection, Yongshougong, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 31.

《玉緣：德安堂藏玉》，永壽宮，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號31

The crisply carved design of luscious flowers issuing from willowy stems with wispy leaves evokes the elaborate and complex designs found on Indian Mughal jades, which were popular at the Qing court, particularly during the reign of the Qianlong emperor when they first reached the court as items of trade or tribute. Revered by the emperor for their colour, extreme thinness and lavish floral designs, jade carvers adapted design elements associated with Mughal jades as the curvilinear floral design on this elegant vessel demonstrates.

紀曉嵐《閱微草堂筆記》曰：「今琢玉之巧，以痕都斯坦為第一。」痕都斯坦玉器自中亞傳入中原，進貢宮廷，深得乾隆皇帝青睞。於是內務府招募回族玉匠，設立仿製痕都斯坦玉器作坊，模仿她通透的胎體、別緻的造型、花紋裝飾，結合中國傳統技法，造就了一批帶著異域色彩的「西番作」玉器。

此器正是仿痕都斯坦玉器的佳作。取漢式造型，通體浮雕痕都斯坦玉器上常見的莨菪葉，花蕾蓋鈕，雙花耳套雙環，雕工精緻，造型碩大而不失優雅。