Bonhams 1793 : A mother-of-pearl hardstone-inlaid conch shell Qianlong

Qianlong
The musical instrument worked from a conch shell of natural spiral cone shape ending in a pointed tip, the other end sealed with a mounting with a flower bud-shaped knop, the sides and the upper surface of meandering floral and leafy decoration further enhansed by inlaid semi-precious hardstones, all enamelled on blue and turquoise ground.
19cm high.

Sold for HK$ 250,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

The conch or 'shankha' in Sanskit, is often used in Buddhist ritual as a horn or offertory vessel, representing dharma or the spoken word of Buddha. Traditionally used mainly as a symbol or power and authority, it also an emblem of religious sovereignty, where a sound of the conch blowing would ward off evil spirits.

The current lot is an example used in Tibetan ritual, whereby the conch shell is fashioned into a musical instrument by cutting off the end of the shell and fitting it with an ornamental mouthpiece that extends from the mouth of the shell. A similarly enamelled inlaid couch was gifted to the Qianlong Emperor in celebration for his seventieth birthday, corresponding to 28 October 1780, illustrated in Treasures of Imperial Court: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, 2004, p.216, pl.192.

清乾隆銀胎綠琺瑯嵌寶石海螺

可參考清宮舊藏之銀胎綠琺瑯嵌寶石海螺，從形製，工藝及用料上都極為相似，如出一轍，見徐啟憲編，《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系-宮廷珍寶》，香港，2004，頁216，圖版192。該海螺為西藏六世班禪為祀乾隆皇帝七十壽辰進獻的，有著特殊歷史價值。