A rare archaistic 'burnt' jade duck-shaped vase and cover18th century
Exceptionally carved in the form of a standing duck flanked by a pair of handles attached to the loops at either end of the swinging overhead arched handle, carved with a flattened body supported on two webbed feet, the wings rendered in low relief folded on the sides and boldly carved with plumage and archaistic scrolls, the stone of a pale tone with dark grey inclusions imitating archaic jade, the cover surmounted by a quartz finial, hongmu stand. The vase 17.7cm (7in) high overall (3).注脚十八世紀 青玉燒古雕仿古鳧尊

Provenance:
Vittoria Modiano (1877-1950), Italy, and thence by descent

Vittoria Modiano, was a scion of a well known Jewish family with roots in Italy dating back to at least the 16th century. During the Nazi occupation of Rome from September 1943, Vittoria Modiano was helped by Constantino Giorgio Bulgari and his wife Laura, of the Bulgari Jewellers family, who have been recognised by Yad Vashem in Israel as 'Righteous Among the Nations' for their courage, generosity and humanistic efforts to save Mrs Modiano as well as others who suffered from discrimination and persecution by the regime in Italy.

來源：
維多利亞·莫迪亞諾（Vittoria Modiano）夫人收藏，並由後人保存至今

維多利亞·莫迪亞諾夫人出生於意大利一個著名的猶太家庭，其家族歷史至少可追溯至十六世紀。1943年9月納粹佔領羅馬以來，維多利亞·莫迪亞諾得到了寶格麗珠寶商家族的君士坦丁·喬治·寶格麗（Constantino Giorgio Bulgari）和他的妻子勞拉（Laura）的幫助。因為他們勇敢、慷慨地救助了莫迪亞諾夫人和其他受到意大利法西斯政權歧視、迫害的人民，寶格麗夫婦在以色列被雅德·瓦瑟姆（Yad Vashem）授予國際義人（Righteous Among the Nations）稱號。

Published and Illustrated:
S.C.Nott, Chinese Jades Throughout the Ages, London, 1936, pl.XC, p.100 (where the author describes it as 'An important carving of this type, from the Collection of Madame Vittoria Modiano').

出版及著錄：
樂提著，《中國玉器源流考》，倫敦，1936年，圖版90，頁100
（書中作者提到此件為鴨形玉雕之重要實例，來自維多利亞·莫迪亞諾夫人收藏）

The prototype in form and design for this vessel would have been an archaic bronze zhou fu zun, published in the Song dynasty's catalogue of paintings in the imperial collection Chongxiu xuanhe bogutu (Revised Illustrated Catalogue of Xuanhe Profoundly Learned Antiquity), a catalogue which includes bronzes in the imperial Court Collection dating from the Shang to the Tang dynasty. See two examples of the bronze prototype from the Spring and Autumn period, illustrated by Rong Geng, Shang Zhou Yi Qi Tong Kao, vol.2, p.386, nos.694 and 695. See also a Song dynasty bronze prototype in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Through the Prism of the Past: Antiquarian Trends in Chinese Art of the 16th to 18th Century, Taipei, 2003, p.63, pl.I-39; and another in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by R.Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, p.82, no.62.

The present archaistic duck-shaped vase and cover is an exemplary jade carving demonstrating the Qianlong emperor's fascination with archaism. The emperor is recorded to have exhorted his court and craftsmen to look to China's archaic past for moral guidance and artistic inspiration. For related examples of Qing dynasty jade carvings of an archaistic duck, see three carvings in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by M.Knight, H.Li and T.Bartholomew, Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, 2007, nos.279, 280 and 283.

青玉質，燒古做舊，仿春秋青銅鳧尊，方口，卷喙，穿孔開流，耳羽散於兩側，回卷作環，套雕提樑其內，背隆起雕成瓶頸，內掏空，兩側雕鏤空S紋，壺蓋雕塔狀捉手，上嵌寶石，口緣上下雕回紋一周，翅尾上卷，上雕仿古幾何紋飾，尾部肥碩豐滿，上翹下垂，身雕仿古變體雲紋，足矮壯，配蘇造紅木架，承合婉轉，渾如一器。

此器原形見於宣和《博古圖錄》，記為周鳧尊，見（宋）王黼等撰，《博古圖錄》，明萬曆十六年（1588）泊如齋刊本，卷七，頁10。然目前所見青銅鳧尊最早只能到春秋時期，且無提樑和瓶頸，參考兩件藏於日本之春秋青銅鳧尊，見容庚著，《商周彝器通考》，卷下，頁386，編號694及695。宋代徽宗一朝所藏古銅器為歷代之最，仿古銅器亦起後世之先河，和本器最為接近的青銅實物恰是宋代的仿古銅器，可參考台北故宮藏一件宋代錯金銀鳧尊，和本件玉雕鳧尊已然貌合，見《古色-十六至十八世紀藝術的仿古風》，台北，2003年，頁63，圖版I-39；倫敦維多利亞及艾伯特博物館藏一件青銅鳧尊亦類之，惟背部無隆起瓶頸，見R. Kerr著，《Later Chinese Bronzes》,1990年，倫敦，頁82，編號62。

晚明以來，鳧的形象在玉雕逐漸演變成鴨或鴛鴦形，或因長曲頸和散開尾羽在玉石上不易表現。與本件拍品相似的玉雕鴨尊或提梁卣皆未查見，唯有仿古風格相似的玉雕鴨擺件可資比較，多為十八世紀作品，可比較數件三藩市亞洲藝術博物館藏玉雕鴨，皆以方頭棱角處理整體線條，且雕琢仿古變體雲紋、雷紋、回紋為飾，見M. Knight、H. Li及T. Bartholomew合著，《Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco》，三藩，2007年，編號279、280及283。