Bonhams 1793 : A white jade double finger citron Qing dynasty

Bonhams magazines

My Bonhams

Advanced search

24 Nov 2012 14:00 CST Hong Kong
Timeless and Translucent: The Harold E. Stack Collection of Chinese Jades
Back to auction 20826

A white jade double finger citron

Qing dynasty
Naturalistically worked as a cluster of a large and a small finger citron, the natural texture of the fruit captured by the subtle surface contours and glossy polish of the stone, the larger fruit depicted growing high above the smaller, both with elongated thick tendrils with curled ends, all issuing from an openwork of gnarled branches bearing tiny peaches, ripe pomegranate with exposed flesh and leaves worked in high relief, the stone of creamy white with dark brown russet stains and inclusions.
20.5cm high.

Sold for HK$ 400,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance 來源:
The Jade Collector, Los Angeles, 3 October 1996

The Buddha's hand citron, which takes its name from the shape of its fruit that resembles the idealised digiform fingers of the Buddha, has a strong fragrance and is used as an altar offering during the New Year celebration. The first character fo is a pun for fu, which translates as blessings or riches, while the second character shou is a homophone for longevity.

For a related white jade finger citron, see James C. Y. Watt, Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum Seattle, 1989, pl.79. See also an example in the Avery Brundage collection, currently housed in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in Rene-Yvon L. D'Argence, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, Tokyo, 1977, pp.106-107, pl.XLVI. Compare also a white jade finger citron from the John and Berthe Ford collection, sold in these rooms, 25 May 2011, lot 389.

清白玉佛手式花插

白玉，玉質肥潤，局部帶赭色沁，表皮有黃褐色皮張。器主體為一立形佛手，由十五指攏成，內中空。大佛手下緊貼一小佛手，佛手外側透雕枝葉，葉肉葉脈雕刻細膩，枝幹上結有果實，較粗的枝葉在佛手底部盤結成花插之足。

佛手是清代宮廷玉雕中常見題材，其器形來自佛手柑橘。由於其形態奇似一手，千姿百態，因此被視作吉祥圖案用以中國傳統雕刻藝術的裝飾。美國西雅圖藝術博物館藏一件白玉佛手，見James C. Y. Watt，《Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum》，西雅圖，1989年，圖版79。另見三藩市亞洲藝術博物館藏一件青玉佛手，見René-Yvon L. d'Argencé著，《Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection》，東京，1977年，頁106-107，圖版XLVI，另見John and Berthe Ford舊藏一件白玉佛手花插，香港邦瀚斯2011年5月25日，拍品編號389。