A rare very pale green jade double-carp vase


Qianlong/JiaqingMeticulously carved in the form of two 'fish dragons', or ao referring to one of the dragon's nine sons, emerging from rocks and tempestuous waves in an upright manner, their toothed mouths forming the mouths of the vase and conjoined by a flaming pearl, their ruyi-shaped large fins crossing with each other's with a bat flying above, their bodies naturalistically carved to render an even scaly texture, the stone of pale greenish-white tone with minor grey and opaque white inclusions. 18cm (7in) high.
|清乾隆/嘉慶 青白玉雕魚龍戲珠花插The carp or liyu 鯉魚 transforming into a dragon long 龍 is associated with the passing of the civil service examinations, hence forming the pun yutiao longmen 魚跳龍門. According to traditional folklore, carp swim upstream in the Yellow River at Hunan towards the Dragon Gate waterfall at Longmen. It is said that the first carp which successfully surpasses the rapids will transform into a fish-dragon yulong 魚龍. Such legend has led to the common saying that, 'a student facing his examinations is like a carp attempting to leap through the Dragon Gate', which bears the metaphor for a poor scholar who passes the civil service examinations and becomes a high official.For related examples of jade vases in the form of a carp, Qing dynasty, see one illustrated in Masterworks of Chinese Jade in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1970, no.25; and two examples illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 8, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, nos.167 and 168.白玉質偏青，瑩潤潔白，圓雕二魚龍戲珠，魚龍扇尾，昇於海水崖山之上，山石嶙峋以鋌鉆為之，波濤洶湧圓雕陰刻，雙魚龍胸鰭展若如意，交叉環抱，背鰭如劍山，獨角後伏，雙口大張，口帶輪齒，口內掏膛成瓶膽，二魚龍口齒兩側雕火珠，祥雲環繞。鱗甲浮雕琢磨，立體整齊，惟妙惟俏。魚龍或為印度教中的摩羯東傳而化，加之中圖龍生九子之一鰲的典故，二者常有混淆。清代玉器多有其形象的花插，或又與鯉魚躍龍門幻化成龍的傳說有關，寓意學子學業有成。兩岸故宮都有類似的清代玉雕魚龍形花插可作參考，見《故宮玉器精粹》，台北，1970年，圖版25及《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇8》，北京，2011年，編號167及168。