A superb white jade swan, Late Western Han dynasty | 西漢晚期　玉鵝

Tiffany Chen, Selected Works of Jade, Aurora Art Museum, Taipei, 2003, pl. 175.

Liu Yujuan and Zheng Anfeng, Masterpieces from the Collection of Aurora Art Museum, Aurora Art Museum, Taipei, 2003, pl. 43.

Tsai Ching-Liang, Jades of Han Dynasty, Aurora Art Museum, Taipei, 2005, pl. 136.

Ching Wan Society Thirtieth Anniversary Catalogue, vol. 2: Objects of vertu, Taipei, 2025, p. 39 (bottom).

Masterfully carved in the round from white jade altered to a warm, creamy colour, this exquisite figure captures a swan in a gentle, squatting posture. The bird is depicted with its head bent downward, its supple neck dramatically curled, resting its slightly opened bill gently against its protruding chest in a naturalistic resting or preening pose.

The present carving is notable for its meticulous detailing and the sophisticated use of various lapidary techniques. The rounded eyes were expertly rendered using a hollow drill, framed by several finely incised lines and three distinct circles, also executed with a hollow drill. Just above the beak, two nostrils have been neatly carved using a solid drill. The artisan has brilliantly conveyed the volume and texture of the plumage by employing wide, sweeping lines to signify the overlapping feathers of the wings and tail, which contrast beautifully with the delicate, thin incised lines used to detail the finer feathers across the neck, chest, back, wings, and tail.

During the Han dynasty, the depiction of animals in jade shifted from the highly stylised forms of preceding periods towards a greater degree of realism, reflecting the elite's growing appreciation for the natural world. However, the swan remains a remarkably rare motif among contemporary jade animals.

Han dynasty jade carvings of birds in the round are exceptionally rare. The treatment of the layered feathers and the fluid lines of the neck on the present lot are closely related to a small group of jade figures of seated birds, such as a figure dated mid-Western Han to Eastern Han period, illustrated in Curio Boxes of Qianlong Emperor, Taipei, 2019, p. 142.

出版

陳臻儀，《古玉選粹》，震旦藝術博物館，台北，2003年，圖版175

劉玉娟、鄭安芬，《文物精粹》，震旦藝術博物館，台北，2003年，圖版43

蔡慶良，《漢代玉器》，震旦藝術博物館，台北，2005年，圖版136

《清翫雅集卅周年慶收藏圖錄》，冊2：珍玩，台北，2025年，頁39（下）

本品白玉質，表面受沁白化，呈溫潤之奶油色澤。圓雕玉鵝呈蹲伏之姿，造形安閑優雅。鵝首朝下，頸部呈大弧度彎轉，嘴部微張，向下輕抵豐滿之前胸，生動捕捉了水禽休憩或理毛時的自然神態。

此器刻紋工細，展現了漢代匠人高超且多樣的琢玉技法。鵝之圓眼以管具鑽磨而成，周邊精細陰刻幾道眼紋，並輔以管鑽之三個圓圈紋作為裝飾。嘴部上方則用桿具磨出一對鼻孔，細節入微。匠人巧妙運用不同的線條來表現羽毛的豐富質感：翅膀與尾巴以寬陰線雕琢，生動展現羽毛層層重疊之立體感；而頸部、胸部、背部、翅膀與尾部等處，則施以不同的細陰線，細膩刻畫各個部位之羽毛。

漢代玉雕動物的風格逐漸走向寫實生動，反映了當時社會對自然生態的細微觀察與關注。然而，以玉鵝為題材的圓雕作品在同期器物中極為少見。本拍品對層疊羽毛的陰刻線條，與一小群棲坐姿態的玉鳥雕件極為相似，見一西漢中期至東漢時期玉鳥，著錄於《乾隆皇帝的多寶格》，台北，2019年，頁142。