A pale green jade 'peach' ruyi-sceptre


18th centuryThe sceptre with a ruyi-shaped head finely carved in low relief with a blossoming and fruiting branch of peach, bamboo leaves, and lingzhi in a basket above ruyi clouds, a bat flying over the top, the arched shaft further embellished with a brunch of peach over a bat the end, the stone of a pale green tone with natural opaque white inclusions, wood stand, box. 42cm (16 1/2in) long. (3).
|十八世紀 青白玉雕福壽雙清如意Ruyi means 'as you wish', and therefore the presentation of a ruyi sceptre would have been deemed as bestowing good luck. The combination of peach, bats and the ruyi sceptre forms the rebus fushou ruyi 福壽如意, which symbolises blessings, longevity and fulfillment of all wishes.Compare a pale jade ruyi sceptre decorated with the same subject, Qing dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 8, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.62. See also a pale green jade decorated with bats and peaches, 18th/19th century, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2017, lot 22.白玉質偏青，瑩潤透白，如意頭鏟地浮雕福壽雙清圖，花籃浮於祥雲，籃中插壽桃、桃花、靈芝、竹，其上一隻蝙蝠，如意柄起伏秀美，正則穹面，背則平面，尾端抹角，淺浮雕壽桃一枝，蝙蝠一尾，餘無他飾。此件如意厚重不失秀美，用料頗耗，用工極深。乾隆以降，清宮如意用量極大，或裝飾，或賞賜，多以福祿壽喜，多子多孫為題。本件所見紋飾為蝙蝠和壽桃，寓意福壽。北京故宮藏一件清代青玉福壽紋如意，題材相同，可參考之，見《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇8》，北京，2011年，頁94，編號62。另可參考香港邦瀚斯曾售出一件十八/十九世紀青白玉雕壽桃蝙蝠如意， 亦類之，2017年11月28日，拍品編號22。