Bonhams 1793 : A pair of large white jade ruyi sceptres Qing dynasty

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

A pair of large white jade ruyi sceptres

Qing dynasty
Each of elongated curved form, the ruyi head skillfully worked with a wrinkled elephant depicted with head turned right and adorned in a cloth decorated with lingzhi fungus, the beast surmounted by a jardinière issuing forth narcissus and encircled by five bats amidst wispy clouds and lingzhi fungus, the central cartouche worked with a baluster vase decorated with a taiji symbol, issuing forth a bouquet of lotus blossom and leaves, flanked at the sides by a pair of bats, the final panel featuring a Buddhist lion depicted frolicking with a brocade ball, the white stone with natural dark inclusions.
42.4cm long. (2).

Sold for HK$ 1,160,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance 來源:
Eileen Kershaw, Hong Kong, 19 April 1985

The word ruyi literally translates as 'to fulfill your wish', which is also another name for lingzhi. They are often depicted using ancient cloud designs, because clouds and ruyi are both closely associated with immortality. Ruyi sceptres such as this pair were endowed with auspicious symbolism in the Qing dynasty, and were popular with high ranking members at the Imperial court.

For a similar ruyi decorated with the 'eight Buddhist emblems' in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, see Later Chinese Jades. Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century, San Francisco, 2007, p.58, no.23. See also a closely related ruyi from the John and Berthe Ford collection, sold in these rooms, 25 May 2011, lot 420.

清白玉雕太平有像如意一對

玉質肥潤，色澤白中泛青，青中略帶白色斑塊，局部有黃色沁色。每隻如意各分三節，頭部浮雕五蝠、吉象、水仙，祥雲，寓意「太平有象」或「五福太平」，如意中部雕雙蝠捧八卦紋寶瓶，寶瓶中花草繁盛，如意下部雕瑞獅戲繡球，四周綬帶飛舞，畫面生動。

此對如意與1985年4月19日得自Eileen Kershaw。如意梵語為「阿那律」，自漢朝時隋佛教傳入中國後便成為吉祥長壽之象徵。明清時期，如意發展達到鼎盛，出現一批使用珍貴材質製作的如意，受到文人墨客賞識的同時，又逐漸成為達官顯貴承載祈福禳安的貴重禮品。清宮收藏中也有大量用不同材質製作的如意，因如意常被用為大臣為皇室祝壽的禮品，皇宮貴族也會用如意賞賜大臣。

參看三藩市亞洲藝術博物館中收藏一件19世紀青玉八寶如意，其玉質略偏深青，造型類似，見《Later Chinese Jades, Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century》，三藩市，2007年，頁58，圖版23。香港邦瀚斯於2011年5月25日曾售出另一件John and Berthe Ford舊藏清白玉雕八仙如意，拍品420，其形制與本其類似。