A pair of white jade 'chilong' scroll weights, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白玉雕螭龍紋鎮尺一對

Collection of George Hathaway Taber Jr. (1859-1940).

Ashkenazie & Co., San Francisco, October 1995.

來源:

George Hathaway Taber Jr. (1859-1940) 收藏

Ashkenazie & Co.，舊金山，1995年10月

Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1935-1940 (on loan).

展覽：

卡內基博物館，匹茲堡，1935至1940年 (借展)

Sam Bernstein, Chinese Jade the Immortal Stone. The Robert A. & Elizabeth Cookson Collection, San Francisco, 2009, pl. 59.

出版:

Sam Bernstein，《Chinese Jade the Immortal Stone. The Robert A. & Elizabeth Cookson Collection》，舊金山，2009年，圖版59

The present pair is outstanding for its impeccable carving and translucent, high quality stone. Worked from flawless white jade of a soft even tone, the sinuous bodies of the chilong contrast with the plain, undecorated surface of the base, the weights finely finished to a smooth and highly tactile polish. The steady supply of jade was only secured in the 24th year of the Qianlong reign (1759), when Qing imperial forces subjugated the Dzungars and pacified the Hui areas. Jade boulders from these areas were brought to the court in large quantities, where the best specimens were selected to be carved by artisans of the Palace Workshop to produce imperial works such as the present that would have surely pleased the Emperor.

Closely related examples of similar white jade scroll weights carved with chilong can be found in museums worldwide: see a pair, with chilong carved to each end rather than the middle, in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. 新00117957); a shorter paper weight, carved with a chilong with a ruyi in its mouth, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no. 故玉004719N000000000).