A very fine Imperial white jade carved 'peach' waterpot


Qianlong Superbly carved with thin sides in the form of a peach growing from a realistic gnarled branch with clusters of leaves extending across the tip of the peach forming a spout sectioned by a flying bat, with another bat carved in low relief to the rim, the stone of an even white tone, box. 10cm (4in) long. (2).
|清乾隆 御製白玉雕桃形水丞Provenance: A Japanese private collectionChristie's Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 1022An important Asian private collection 來源：日本私人舊藏香港佳士得，2004年11月1日，拍品編號1022亞洲重要私人收藏The elegant style and the extraordinarily fluid carving of this waterpot, together with the remarkably even tone of the stone, exemplify much of the celebrated 18th century jade production under the Qianlong emperor. The present carving, formed as a peach, represents the wish for longevity, and the addition of the bat represents the wish for happiness and prosperity.This 'peach' waterpot appears to draw its inspiration from the archaic bronze vessel, yi. During the 18th century the imperial Court was fascinated with archaic objects and many wares were produced in imitation of ancient forms and designs. This trend reflected the emperors' intention of restoring 'the ancient ways' as means to draw the moral righteousness and strength from the examples of the ancients. The Qianlong emperor purposefully devised the Xi Qing Gu Jian 西清古鑑 (Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities), a collection of drawings from antiquities, as means to provide important sources of inspiration to his craftsmen. See Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp.49-50. Compare with a related example of a white jade 'peach' washer decorated with bat handles, mid-Qing dynasty, illustrated by Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji: zhong, Shijiazhuang, 2005, p.625, no.322. See also a pale green jade 'peach' washer of a similar form and carving style, in the National Palace Musuem, Taipei, acc.no.gu-yu-000601. Compare also the bat decoration on a white jade 'peach' washer, illustrated by R.Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartma, Hong Kong, 1996, p.110, no.92.For further related examples of a jade 'peach and bat' vessels, see a white jade peach-form brushwasher, Qianlong, which was sold at Christie's New York, 15-16 March 2015, lot 3028; and another example, 18th/19th century, which was sold at Christie's New York, 19-20 September 2013, lot 1736.白玉質，白潤細膩，掏膛成形，狀如壽桃，制如水匜，桃尖順勢作流，鏤空雕一蝙蝠橫於其上，口沿一側亦雕一隻蝙蝠，桃尾浮雕枝葉，葉出口沿，細刻葉脈及翻折貌，桃枝盤亙器底形成足部。此器掏製極為工整，膛壁均勻，薄可透光，刀工亦精細，蝙蝠毛髮，枝葉經脈，皆纖毫不爽。桃，長壽之物，《神異經》載:「東方有樹高五十丈，名曰桃，其子徑三尺二寸，和羹食之令人益壽。」蝠諧音「福」，皆為清宮流行的題材，寓意福壽吉祥。 此件之形取自先秦青銅匜，為乾隆朝仿古風氣下的產物，可比較一件北京故宮藏青中期和田玉蝠耳式洗，除去環耳和底足，本件拍品的器型和紋飾皆玉質類同，見楊伯達著《中國玉器全集（中）》，石家莊，2005年，頁625，編號322。台北故宮亦有封口的例子，不似匜形，桃蝠紋樣與本件水丞幾如出自同一粉本，館藏編號故-玉-000601。至於蝠桃裝飾，可比較一件乾隆桃形碗，書中定為碗，實為洗，亦有蝙蝠攀附，紋樣類似，見康蕊君著《Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman》，香港，1996年，頁110，編號92。桃形水丞還可參考一件乾隆白玉桃蝠水丞，2015年3月15-16日售於佳士得紐約，拍品編號3028；另有近似的一對十八/十九世紀白玉桃蝠水丞可資比較，2013年9月19-20日售於同處，拍品編號1736。