An exceptional Imperial spinach-green jade 'ram's head' water dropper and cover


QianlongThe quatrefoil vessel deftly carved with a ram's head to one side, the mouth pierced forming the spout, the naturalistic curling horns extending to either side of the vessel flanked by fleshy, curling, Mughal-style petals, the angular handle capped with a flat archaistic taotie mask, all raised on a short stepped foot, the domed cover similarly carved with petal-like lappets and surmounted by a tall floral finial, the semi-translucent stone of apple-green tone with dark speckles, elaborately carved hardwood stand. 11cm (4 1/3in) wide. (3).
|清乾隆 碧玉雕羊首海棠式水注Provenance: An important Asian private collection 來源：亞洲重要私人收藏The present lot is a perfect combination of classical archaism and exotic Mughal style, both patently admired by the Qianlong emperor. The quatrefoil, crabapple form body with two or four lobes was formalised in the Song dynasty and continually used into the Ming and Qing dynasties. Numerous related archaic du vessels with taotie masks from the Shang and Zhou dynasties can be found in the Qing Court Collection. With the publication of the Xiqing Gujian, a comprehensive 40-volume catalogue of Chinese ritual bronzes in the collection of the Qianlong emperor, the craftsmen had much material with which to base their archaistic designs and patterns. For example, compare the taotie mask on the present lot with that on a Western Zhou dynasty gui ritual vessel, illustrated in the Xiqing Gujian, in Qinding Siku Quanshu ben, 1749, v.14, p.11. The archaism of the Qianlong Emperor was intended to resist popular folk aesthetics of the time and create an orthodox aesthetic orientation. This so-called orthodox aesthetic was based on ancient heritage and classical texts. The origins of archaism as an aesthetic movement can said to be traced back to the Xuanhe period of the Song dynasty, when Emperor Huizong ordered the compilation of the Xuanhe bogu tu, an extensive catalogue of his collection of ancient artefacts. Furthermore, he ordered that his craftsmen imitate and model their work on ancient examples, which were then sent to various parts of the country, thus unifying to some degree ritual practices and aesthetics. The Qianlong emperor took this lesson to heart and so ordered the compilation of the Xiqing Sanjian. So that his craftsmen could have something to model their work on, he handed the Xiqing Gujian to his Imperial jade craftsmen. There is even a poem he wrote: 'resisting popular mores, the Xiqing Gujian teaches the way'; see 'Ti hetian yu zhou ya zun', in Qing Gaozong yuzhi shiwen quanji, Taipei, 1976, juan 78, p.4. The archaism of this unique water dropper is therefore inseparable from the aesthetic taste of the Qianlong emperor himself.The ram's head on jade vessels was inspired from so called 'Hindustan' jades. Jades from the Mongolian, Timurid, Turkmen, and Persian empires are sometimes all collectively known as 'Hindustani' jades. This was what the Qianlong emperor personally defined. In the text 'Tianzhu wu yindu kao e', he wrote: 'From Mount Dadak to the south is Kashmir, and to the west is Wendustan... Although Wendustan is Muslim, the Muslims have a legend that the remains of Buddha are there, and have benefited from their common border with India. In the past it was perhaps Hindu, but now it is Muslim, it cannot be entirely ascertained. Wendustan and today's Tangut land [i.e. China's western border] and Muslim areas are all called Hindustan, probably the translators were in error in calling 'Hindustan' 'Wendustan', as both are similar to the sound in Indian.' Mount Daak is located in the northeast of Afghanistan to the east of Tajikistan, and the Buddha remains could refer to the Bamiyan Buddhas.The so called 'Hindustani' elements of this jade are largely drawn from Mughal vessels from the Mughal Indian empire. Mughal art often employs the ram in decoration, including goats, antelopes, etc., in ivory as well as jade; mainly appearing on the handle or tip of a utensil. The most well-known example is the white jade wine cup of Shah Jahan with a ram's head, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, see D.Swallow and J.Guy, Art of India: 1550-1900. London, 1990, pp. 94-95. There are numerous examples from the Qing Court collection of jade carvings that exhibit Mughal style influences such as the ram's head. See for example, a similar white jade washer in the shape of a crabapple or begonia flower with ram's head design, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, vol,10, Beijing, 2011, no.201, p.253. Another example of a jade vessel with similar ram's head motif, with 'Jiaqing yu yong' mark and of the period, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Beijing wenwu jingcui daxi yuqi juan, Beijing, 1999, pl.253, p.209. The acanthus leaves derive from classical European architecture and was introduced into Mughal jade carving motifs in around the 17th century. The cover of the present lot with a twisting floral finial was commented upon by the Qianlong emperor himself in a poem: 'furling leaves contain flower bud ears, handling a flower' (see 'Yong Hendusitan yu wan you xu' in Yuzhi shi sanji, juan 86). The poppy-flower pattern on the cover is also typical of Mughal style jades. Compare with a Mughal jade vessel, with related floral pattern on the foot, illustrated in Exquisite Beauty: Islamic Jades, Taipei, 2007, pl.59, p.68. It is known that during the later years of the Qianlong emperor's reign, jades with Islamic style influences became the first choice for ministers and tributaries bearing gifts. This water dropper perfectly catered to the Qianlong emperor's own tastes of combining classical archaism with foreign 'Hindustani' influences. Compare with a white jade teapot and cover with ram's head spout, Qianlong, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 3613. Compare also with a Mughal-style white jade ram's cup, Qianlong, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 3015. 碧玉質，內含黑星，流作羊首，羊角分作兩邊，口部開小孔為流，下顎鬍鬚細密雕琢，一如披散後腦之髪，器身海棠形，鋬仿先秦青銅器，平面轉折，上浮雕饕餮雲穀紋，器蓋亦海棠式，浮雕罌粟花，捉手圓雕成莨苕紋。此件水注為痕都斯坦風格與仿古風格的完美結合。海棠式注身從宋代流傳至明清，取海棠花之形，或兩瓣或四瓣。鋬上仿古獸面紋，可參考清宮所藏商周古銅。匠人不太有機會接觸到真品摹製，然而《西清古鑑》的出版，讓他們多了很多上古紋樣的素材。比如其中著錄的一件西周獸面紋簋，胸部正中的獸面紋和耳首紋飾和本件水注的鋬上紋飾頗似，見《西清古鑑》，乾隆十四年（1749年），《欽定四庫全書本》，卷十四，頁11。 乾隆仿古意在抵制時下流行的繁複艷俗之民間審美，建立一種正統的審美取向。所謂的正統審美，則是取法三代，師從古典。這一取向的淵源可以追溯到宋代宣和時期，徽宗下令整理編撰宮中所藏古器的目錄，即《宣和博古圖》，并令工匠仿造三代禮器，發送至全國州府學宮祭祀，一時禮制肅然一統。乾隆帝對此心嚮往之，故而有《西清三鑑》之巨著。為了使匠人摹時有法可依，乾隆曾將《西清古鑑》交與內府玉人，有詩為證：「堪嫌俗樣巧祛他，西清古鑒式教肖」，見《題和闐玉周亞尊》，《清高宗御製詩文全集》，台北，1976年，詩五集78卷，頁4。此件水注之仿古鋬如此惟妙惟俏，和乾隆帝的仿古取向密不可分，並且得益于古物研究出版的昌盛。羊首流和器身花紋則取材自痕都斯坦玉器。蒙兀兒帝國，帖木兒帝國，土庫曼帝國，波斯薩菲王朝的玉器皆稱為痕都斯坦玉器。此名為乾隆皇帝親自考訂而定，在考證文章《天竺五印度考訛》中乾隆寫道：「由拔達克山轉而南為克什米爾，又轉而西為溫都斯坦。......溫都斯坦雖回地也，回人相傳彼地佛遺跡，益知即北印度交界。或者昔為天竺屬，而後為回部屬，皆不可知。溫都斯坦，今唐古忒及回語皆稱為痕都斯坦，蓋亦譯者訛痕為溫，而二語皆與印度音聲相近。」拔達克山位於阿富汗東北至塔吉克東部，佛遺跡或為巴米揚大佛。本件的痕都斯坦玉元素則主要源自蒙兀兒帝國玉器。蒙兀兒藝術品常以羊首作飾，包括山羊、羚羊等種類，材質有玉和象牙，主要出現在劍柄和器物尖頭部分。最著名的例子是帶蒙兀兒沙賈汗銘文的白玉羊頭瓜辦杯，藏於英國維多利亞及艾伯特博物館，見 D. Swallow及J. Guy編，《 Arts of India: 1550-1900》，倫敦，1990年，圖版73，頁94至95。清宮則有數例移植這一風格羊首的玉雕作品，如一件白玉羊首海棠式洗，羊首器身皆和此件相似，見《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇10》，北京，2011年，編號201，頁253；另有一件北京故宮藏「嘉慶御用」提樑壺，羊首亦是這類風格，見《北京文物精粹大系玉器卷》，北京，1999年，圖版253，頁209。莨苕紋源自歐洲古典建築的邊緣卷葉紋飾，十七世紀左右引入蒙兀兒玉雕工藝。此件水注蓋花卉形捉手，便化自莨苕紋，正是乾隆帝吟詠的「葉翻含蕾耳，辦發抱花趺」（《詠痕都斯坦玉椀 有序》，《御製詩三集》，卷86）。捉手底部的罌粟花紋，典型蒙兀兒風格，可比較一件蒙兀兒帝國花口花蕾形雙柄碗底部的罌粟花及兩側的莨苕紋，見鄧淑蘋編，《國色天香·伊斯蘭玉器》，台北，2007年，編號59，頁68。從活計檔可知，乾隆晚年以來，帶有伊斯蘭風格的玉器，成為內外臣工進貢皇帝的首選，此件水注或為當時迎合皇帝品味的中西結合之作。市場所見相關例子可比較一件清乾隆白玉羊首瓜棱壺，2017年10月3日售於香港蘇富比，拍品編號3613；另有一件清乾隆白玉痕都斯坦式瓜棱式羊首盃亦資參考，2015年4月6日售於前者，拍品編號3015。