A magnificent large pale greenish-white jade 'prunus' trunk-form brush pot


18th/19th centuryOf irregular cylindrical section, the thick-walled scholarly vessel skillfully carved as a section of a gnarled prunus tree trunk, the exterior naturalistically carved around the sides in high relief with blossoming branches growing in different directions, the natural grain and crevices of the tree trunk vividly depicted, the centre of the base slightly recessed, the semi-translucent stone of even white tone with some white speckles and russet inclusions. 21cm (8 1/4in) high.
|十八/十九世紀 青白玉雕梅樁大筆海Provenance:Puwei (1880–1936), Prince Kung (Gong) of the First Rank, by reputeYamanaka and Co. Ltd., New York, by repute (possibly, American Art Galleries, New York, The Remarkable Collection of the Imperial Prince Kung of China: A Wonderful Treasury of Celestial Art 27 February 1913, lot 130)Sir Bernard Eckstein, by reputeEdward I. Farmer, New York, by reputeMrs Sidney G. deKay, by reputeStanley Charles Nott, The House of Jade Ltd., New York, circa late 1940s/1950sMrs Lucille Nott, 11 January 1966Christie's New York, 20-21 March 2014, lot 2521An important Asian private collectionPublished, Illustrated and Exhibited:Stanley Charles Nott, The House of Jade Ltd., Exhibition of Rare Chinese Jades, New York, exhibition brochure late 1940s/1950s來源：傳恭請王舊藏傳紐約山中商會（或為美國藝術協會，紐約，1913年2月27日，拍品130）傳Bernard Eckstein爵士舊藏傳范德教授舊藏傳Sidney G. deKay夫人舊藏史坦萊·查理斯·諾頓，The House of Jade Ltd.有限公司，紐約，約1940至50年代露西麗·諾頓，1966年1月11日紐約佳士得，2014年3月20-21日，拍品2521重要亞洲私人收藏出版、著錄及展覽：The House of Jade Ltd.（史坦萊·查理斯·諾頓），《中國玉器展覽》，紐約，《展覽圖冊》，1940至50年代Dr Stanley Charles Nott was one of the leading dealers in jade and authored a number of pioneering reference publications in the field from the late 1920s to the late 1940s, including Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, London, 1936. His gallery 'The House of Jade Ltd., was located at 17 East 42nd Street, New York. A rare surviving brochure of the late 1940s/1950s illustrates the present jade brush pot three times, devoting two full pages and also showing it in-situ at Nott's gallery. In this publication Nott describes the vessel as follows:'A Massive Altar Shan-Lei in the form of the Prunus Trunk in bud and blossom. This vessel was a type of temple vat in which the Yueh wine was stored for use during the Tsin service. Shun Chih, circa 1600 A.D.'史坦萊·查理斯·諾頓先生曾是玉器行業中出眾的行家之一，他於1920至1940年代間撰寫並編輯過一系列有關中國玉雕的書款，極具參考價值，如他1936年於倫敦出版的《Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages》等。他的門店曾位於紐約東十道四十二街，此筆海曾在其1940至50年代間出版的一本宣傳冊中出現過三次，並著記認為此筆海有可能亦被清宮慶典時當作盛酒器來使用。The present jade brush pot is notable for its impressive size and weight, and is a very rare example of its type. The use of very large jades carvings became was made possible after the Qianlong emperor's conquest of the Dzungar Khanate, now known as Xinjiang, between 1755 and 1759. The master craftsman superbly integrated any natural flaws into the relief carved design whilst leaving the finer jade stone areas unadorned.Compare with a slightly larger (22.3cm high) but slender green jade brush pot, mid-Qing dynasty, carved with the trunks of a pine tree along the sides, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade 9 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, p.25, no.4. Compare also with a related but smaller white jade pine tree-trunk brush pot, Kangxi (15.5cm high), which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May, 2008, lot 1603. Another but much smaller white and russet jade 'prunus trunk' vase, 18th century (12.5cm high), was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2180.青白玉質，有瑕斑。筆筒形如一段梅樹樁，外壁鏤雕及高浮雕梅枝，枝幹上梅花盛開，一較粗枝幹從筆筒一側蜿蜒生長，梅花花蕊、樹皮、樹洞等皆生動刻畫而出，平底略內凹，內壁光素，器形龐大，頗有氣勢。此器尺寸巨大，製作此類玉器，工匠需要取完整大塊玉石，而此類大塊白玉應該是在乾隆皇帝平定了準格爾叛亂（1755-1759），並打通了新疆和田玉內運的道路後才被大量進貢而得。工匠取大塊玉料，以材料最大尺寸隨形而雕，並巧妙將玉石瑕疵盡量隱藏，在玉質稍好處刻意留白不作浮雕，足見匠心。此筆筒形制特別，細觀之可留意其外壁一側雕梅枝似把手狀，而其口沿突出部分內側也有刻意下凹雕刻，因此亦有可能被當作花插或使用。參看北京故宮博物院藏一件尺寸相當的青玉雕松鶴圖筆筒（22.3厘米高），見《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編9 清》，北京，2011年，頁25，編號4。另見香港佳士得曾售出一件清康熙松莊筆筒，尺寸稍小（15.5厘米高），2008年5月27日，拍品1603；另有一件尺寸更小的十八世紀白玉雕梅樁筆筒（12.5厘米高），售於香港佳士得，2012年11月28日，拍品2180。