A white jade 'tribute bearer' table screen, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白玉胡人獻寶圖插屏

A Romance with Jade: From the De An Tang Collection, Yongshougong, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 25.

《玉緣：德安堂藏玉》，永壽宮，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號25

Foreigners bearing tributes are a popular subject seen from as early as the Tang dynasty, when China saw a large influx of foreigners from Central Asia from the abundant trade along the Silk Road that also led to foreigners bearing tributes to the court. This led to a widespread depiction of foreigners bearing tributes in a variety of media and examples in jade alone ranged from screens to figures worked in the round in varying sizes. This particular motif was one particularly favoured by the Qing dynasty emperors, as it demonstrated the power of the Qing court and continued to be depicted in various jades, paintings and cloisonné works produced for use in the imperial court.

屏白玉，呈圓片狀。浮雕山石嶙峋，蒼松依石而生，中間大象回首，看向一人隨後托著寶瓶，前有牽象者肩扛長戟，戟頭掛磬，描述外國使者獻寶進貢的情景。此屏玉質溫潤，局部烤皮，工藝雅緻，寓意吉祥，典型乾隆朝陳設精品。

中原對外族或外國人統稱「胡人」。「胡人獻寶」題材早見於唐朝，當時大量胡人經絲綢之路東來，經營商貿，更向中國宮廷進貢獻寶，於是胡人獻寶情境被記錄於玉板、擺件甚至大型玉器之上。胡人獻寶題材為清朝皇帝喜愛的紋飾，見於玉器、繪畫、掐絲琺瑯等宮廷陳設品，以示國家繁榮強盛。