A fine pair of spinach-green jade reticulated incense holders


Qianlong Each masterfully and densely carved in openwork with a continuous scene of melons and butterflies borne on meandering foliate tendrils, the leaves delicately worked with relief and incised veins and deliberate pitting to simulate insect bites, all above pierced rockwork, surmounted by an openwork cover in the form of a blossoming lotus, the stone of a vibrant spinach-green tone and the white jade with light russet flecks, gilt metal stands, box. Each 25.5cm (10in) high (5).
|清乾隆 碧玉鏤空雕瓜蒂連綿香筒一對Provenance:Sir William Charles Angliss (1865-1957), MelbourneMarchant, LondonExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition: Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, no.81來源：澳洲墨爾本威廉安格爵士（1865-1957）舊藏倫敦Marchant展覽、出版及著錄：Marchant，《玉器九十，90週年特展》，倫敦，2015年，編號81It is rare to find carved and pierced jade incense holders, which retain their bases, covers and stands, as exemplified in the present lot. The form of the incense holder, also termed parfumiers, is inspired by similarly carved bamboo vessels of the late Ming and early Qing dynasty. For an example see one illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, p.10, no.9; and another in Ming and Qing Bamboo, Hong Kong, 2000, pp.178-179, no.16.The combination of melons, gua and butterflies, die, forms the rebus guadie mianmian, 'May there be ceaseless generations of sons and grandsons.'Compare with a pair of spinach-green jade openwork incense holders carved with ruyi-clouds and bats, with gilt-metal stands and covers, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Jade 8, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.210; and see also two other related examples including a pair of spinach-green jade incense holders carved with figures in landscapes, and a pair of pale green jade incense holders with openwork lotus-shaped covers, illustrated in ibid., nos.198 and 206.碧玉質，鏤空滿雕瓜蒂連綿，藤蔓纏繞，枝葉翻轉，香瓜藏於其間，山石為底，蝴蝶盤旋，畫面流轉，難辨始終。筒頂一白玉雕仰覆蓮為蓋，白玉底封之，口緣刻回紋。銅胎鎏金底座，無腰須彌式，臺沿鏨刻回紋，座面鏨如意花瓣紋。此類玉雕鏤空香筒，應是受到明末清初竹雕香筒啟發而製作，類似的竹雕作品，見北京故宮博物院藏一例，著錄於《故宮博物院珍藏文物珍品全集：竹木牙角雕刻》，香港，2002年，頁10，圖9；另見一例著錄於《虛心傲節：明清竹雕史話》，香港大學美術博物館，2000年，頁178-79，編號16。線香出現之後，香具由之改進，香筒應運而生，時惟明代中期之後。至今所見明代中晚期的竹雕香筒是為當時的主流。乾隆拓土新疆之後，玉料充足，體量巨大，得以玉料製作香筒，為前朝之帝王雅士不可想見，奢華豪氣，登峰造極。玉製香筒需用巨大整料掏膛鎪鏤，所耗非常。又可以嵌入銅胎掐絲琺瑯亭座組成香亭，更顯華麗。瓜蒂連綿題材在清宮十分流行，但以之為主題的香筒並不多見。北京故宮藏有數件玉雕香筒可做比較，以山水或雲蝠紋為主題，見《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇8》，北京，2011年，編號198及206。