Footnotes

• Provenance 來源:
  A private Texas collection
  
  Jadeite was first introduced to China during the late Ming dynasty as a different material. However, it was not until the last quarter of the eighteenth century that it was widely used to produce vessels and snuff bottles for the use of the Imperial court.
  
  The current vase appears to be one of a set of three vessels, or sanshi, placed on a scholar's table for burning incense. A similar combination of sanshi in various materials, particularly cloisonné enamel, is commonly found in the Imperial collections.
  
  清乾隆 翠玉饕餮紋小瓶
  
  翠玉深綠，上有淡褐色紋。小瓶圓口，長頸，圓圈足，掏膛完整，瓶壁較厚。通體飾淺浮雕，長頸飾相對蕉葉紋，瓶身飾錦地饕餮紋，近足處飾荷葉紋一周，樸拙古色。
  
  此小瓶相信是爐、瓶、盒三事之一，此三式是燃燒香檀用之器，置於几案上，配合爐及盒成「三事」。清宮用多以不同物料製「三事」，如瓷、漆、銅、琺瑯等，三事之紋飾及式樣一致成套，而翠玉製者當然更為珍貴。
  
  翠玉產於緬甸，明代晚期傳入中國，但直至十八世紀後也終面關係穩定後才被大量採用。乾隆一朝，翠玉尤得皇室寵愛，其價值地位得到前所未有之提升，隨後宮廷開始定製翠玉製作的文房用具及鼻煙壺。