A large imperial inscribed white jade rhinoceros horn libation cup-imitation vessel, Fanggu mark and period of Qianlong, dated to the dingyou year (in accordance with 1777) | 清乾隆 白玉御題詩上方山仿犀角盃 《大清乾隆仿古》款

Collection of T. B. Kitson.

Sotheby's London, 18th October 1960, lot 146.

Collection of Mrs N. B. Pilcher.

Sotheby's London, 30th October 1987, lot 287.

Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman.

Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2006, lot 1388 and cover.

Christie’s New York, 13th-26th March 2001.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003 - December 2004.

Chinese Art at Auction 1987, Hong Kong, 1988, p. 104.

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 71.

Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 256, fig. 372.

Grand in scale and exceptional in conception, this superbly worked jade cup is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Qianlong imperial craftsmanship. Modelled after a rhinoceros horn libation cup, the exterior is intricately carved in high relief with a continuous lakeside landscape, evoking a serene scene of retreat. The composition is accompanied by an imperial inscription translating to:

Jade stone mimics rhinoceros horn’s grace,

A Ming-style carved cup is traced in this place.

At Lengjia Temple on Shangfang’s crest,

I recall pausing there, my verses impressed.

The inscription is dated to the spring of the Dingyou year of the Qianlong reign (1777) and followed by the imperial seals Tai and Gua. It corresponds to the poem Inscription on a Jade-Carved Stone Lake Scene Cup Made in Imitation of the Ming Dynasty Rhinoceros Horn Cup Style, recorded in the Fourth Collection of the Qianlong Emperor’s Poems, vol. 72.

The Qianlong Emperor undertook six southern inspection tours, visiting Stone Lake on each occasion. An ‘Imperial Path’ was constructed for his ascent of Shangfang Mountain, and he frequently resided at Lengjia Temple, famed for its ancient ginkgo tree. Surrounded by celebrated scenery, he composed poetry and reflected upon the landscape. For the Qianlong Emperor, Shangfang Mountain was not merely a place of natural beauty, but also a setting for the expression of imperial authority, cultivated virtue and Buddhist sensibility. In the present work, memory, poetry and craftsmanship are harmoniously united, exemplifying his ideal of integrating poetry, calligraphy and carving within a single object.

The date of 1777 places the cup at a pivotal moment in the history of Qing imperial jade production. In 1776, following the suppression of the Jinchuan rebellions and the consolidation of Qing control over Xinjiang, the jade transportation routes from Khotan to the interior were fully secured. Large quantities of jade were thereafter delivered to the court, ushering in a flourishing period of imperial jade carving. This cup, made in the forty-second year of the Qianlong reign, may be considered an early masterpiece of this mature phase.

The Qianlong Emperor held a particular admiration for rhinoceros horn cups and actively sought celebrated examples. He commissioned the imperial workshops to reinterpret their forms in precious materials such as jade, wood and porcelain. These works were conceived not as exact replicas, but as refined evocations capturing the spirit and elegance of earlier masterpieces, elevated through the use of more enduring and exalted materials. The present cup stands among the most accomplished of these imperial creations.

A devoted connoisseur, the Qianlong Emperor revered jade for its purity and perceived immortality, believing it capable of enduring for millennia without decay. He frequently ordered important poems and texts to be engraved on jade tablets and expressed his veneration symbolically in the naming of his sons: the Jiaqing Emperor was named Yongyan, the character yan (琰) signifying ‘beautiful jade’.

This magnificent cup thus stands as an eloquent testament to the Qianlong Emperor’s artistic vision and to the technical and aesthetic heights achieved by the imperial workshops at the height of the Qianlong era.

來源

T. B. Kitson 收藏

倫敦蘇富比1960年10月18 日，編號146

N. B. Pilcher 夫人收藏

倫敦蘇富比1987年10月30日，編號287

哈特曼伉儷收藏

香港佳士得2006年11月28日, 編號1388及封面

展覽

紐約佳士得，2001年，3月13至26日

波士頓美術館，2003年8月至2004年12月

出版

《Chinese Art at Auction 1987》, 香港, 1988年，頁104

Robert Kleiner，《Chinese Jades from the Collections of Alan and Simone Hartman》，香港，1996年，圖版71

Jan Chapman, 《中國的犀牛角雕刻藝術》，倫敦，1999年，頁256，圖版372

本品造型碩大，雕作精細，被公認為是僅見的孤品。造型仿犀角盃形制，通體浮雕遊人、蒼松、亭台樓閣，浪恬波靜，小船停泊岸邊，一片祥和的氣氛。近盃鋬山石上刻：

玉石子如犀角材，鏤盃明製試摹哉。

上方山頂楞伽寺，憶我其間得句迴。

乾隆丁酉新春御題，後鈐「太」、「卦」印。

底刻「大清乾隆仿古」款。

盃上刻御題詩名為「題玉鏤石湖景盃 。倣明製犀角盃式為之」，錄於乾隆御題製詩四集，卷七十二．十四 (圖1)。乾隆六次南巡、六至石湖。那裡有專門為乾隆登山而特地鋪設的「乾隆御道」; 駐蹕楞伽寺，那裡有三百多年樹齡的古銀杏樹，乾隆常休憩與此，賞景賦詩。對乾隆皇帝而言，上方山並非只是一處風景，它既是皇帝展現皇權與懷柔的舞臺，也是他個人寄託佛心與詩情的山水知己。乾隆皇帝除了借物懷往，以此詩賦予宮廷藝術品 「詩、書、器」一體的意境。

1776年是宮廷玉料供應的關鍵所在。這年清廷平定了大小金川之亂，統一了新疆地區，並徹底打通了新疆到內地的玉路，迎來了和闐玉料進入宮廷的最高峰。據記載這年新疆進供了二萬餘斤的巨型玉料，創造了乾隆玉器的輝煌時期。本盃上紀年丁酉，即1744年，乾隆42年，這也正是乾隆玉器的輝煌時期的首批傑作。

乾隆皇帝愛玩犀角盃，他下令用玉、木、瓷等珍貴材料，去模仿犀角盃的造型和風韻，創造出一系列獨特的藝術品上。乾隆帝曾多方搜羅名貴犀角盃，並指示宮廷造辦處進行仿製，但仿製的重點在於「意」而非「真」，偏愛用玉、木、瓷等更珍貴的材料去實現藝術超越。其中，最著名的當屬此白玉雕上方山角。乾隆皇帝是名副其實的玉癡，他認為玉製品可以傳承千年，永不敗毀。他把重要的詩書刻於玉板，喜愛的古畫刻成對應的山子，甚至兒女的名字都以玉為旁，如兒子嘉慶帝名顒琰，「琰」正是美玉的意思。

乾隆在位60年間，令故宮的藏玉達三萬多件，占據了現今故宮全部藏玉的半數以上。一生創作800多首詠玉詩，他對玉的喜愛，已經超越了單純的收藏，深入到他生活的各個層面。而本品正他藝術品味和時代風尚的縮影。