清十八世紀 痕都斯坦式白玉嵌寶「茛苕花」紋蓋壺

modelled with a flattened globular body supported on a short splayed foot, surmounted by a tall octagonal neck, set with a loop handle formed from a furled acanthus leaf with chrysanthemum-flower tabs inset with spinels, opposite an upright triangular spout suspending further curling acanthus, finely carved in low relief around the shoulder and the spout with feathery leaves, repeated below key-fret at the rim, the body further embellished with foliate sprays of gold-wired six-petalled florets inset with coloured gems, the domed cover similarly decorated with facettes sides and a chrysanthemum knop, the countersunk base picked out with a peony flower, the smoothly polished stone of pale celadon colour streaked with russet veins

紐約佳士得1996年9月19日，編號22

There are minor frits to the extremities of the cover and vessel. Some of the inlaid gems and hardstones may have come loose and been refixed or replaced in the past.
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The richness of the inlay decoration from Mughal India must have appealed immensely to the Qianlong Emperor and he subsequently had craftsmen working in the imperial workshops create pieces inspired by the foreign wares. The exquisite delicacy of the paper-thin carving, elaborate floral motifs and ornate forms were combined with traditional Chinese elements to satisfy the emperor’s taste. Such hybridity is seen in this ewer which fuses the Mughal inlay and curling acanthus leaves with Chinese chrysanthemums.

 

See a Mughal bowl similarly inlaid with a floral design, included in James C.Y. Watt, Chinese Jades from the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, pl. 101; a flower-shaped dish from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 225; and a small jade jar sold at Christie’s New York, 19^th September 2007, lot 112.