Footnotes

Treasury 1, no. 69


白玉筍子鼻煙壺
或為御製品，可能是宮廷作坊品，北京，1750～1830


The Trojan Embellished Jade

Nephrite; well hollowed with a recessed oval lip; carved in the form of a bamboo shoot embellished with another smaller shoot, with a section of the bamboo plant carved from separate material

Possibly imperial, perhaps palace workshops, Beijing, 1750–1830
Height: 5.78 cm (measured at right angles to the lip)
Mouth/lip: 0.55/1.6 and 1.22 cm (oval)
Stopper: coral, carved in the form of a twig; nephrite collar
Condition: practically invisible miniscule nibbling to the inside of the upper lip. General relative condition: extraordinary for an early embellished bottle


Provenance:
Trojan Collection
Robert Hall (1993)

Published:
Hall 1992, no. 12
Kleiner 1995, no. 78
Treasury 1, no. 69

Exhibited:
British Museum, June–October 1995

Commentary
The bamboo shoot (sunzi) provides a rebus for grandchildren (sunzi). It is also a symbol of fertility because it is reproduced from the bamboo in proliferation and grows quickly. For references to other examples see Treasury 1, no. 67.

The clues associating this bottle with the palace workshops are sufficient here for a sensible, if not entirely convincing attribution. The material is of a distinctly greenish-colour with the typical whiter flaws which occur in a great deal of the white jade used at court,
although, of course, not exclusively (see discussion under Treasury 1, no. 149). The auspicious symbolism is also a standard for court production with its extensive requirements for gifts. It is also hollowed well into the upper areas of the bottle while leaving a fairly substantial base area 1.06 cm deep (see discussion under Treasury 1, no. 75). The most convincing imperial association, however, is found in the use of spinach-green nephrite as embellishment on a white or greenish-white core material for a naturalistic form. This is standard for the production of the large sets of eggplant bottles which were unquestionably made for the court (see discussion under Treasury 1, no. 70). A similar use of embellishment in a different colour of nephrite is also found on the set of almost certainly imperial magnolia-bud bottles of Treasury 1, no. 71. Another white nephrite bamboo-shoot bottle is also in the Bloch Collection (Treasury 1, no. 67). The shoot here is formally set out with regularly overlapping leaves terminating in a point at what is the base of the bottle, but the tip of the shoot. The incised lines on the leaves are also formalized as simple, straight incisions to indicate rather than realistically represent the original leaves, although the embellished green shoot is more realistically carved as are the details of the bamboo plant itself which is superbly crafted in a naturalistic manner demonstrating considerable technical and artistic confidence.

The form is unique for an embellished imperial bottle, but perhaps the most intriguing feature is to be found in the recessed oval lip, which is an extremely rare feature on a snuff bottle of any form. The collar of the stopper is of similar material to the embellishment and it fits perfectly into the recessed oval of the lip. The green nephrite of the collar does not perfectly match the green of the embellishment, and the coral twig is, to modern taste, perhaps a little overpowering artistically, but either or both may be the originals. The longevity symbolism of coral and the Qing love of the material might have allowed for such a taste in the mid-Qing period.


特落伊氏珍藏的閃玉復合材質煙壺

閃玉；掏膛完整，微凹唇，雕一根筍子，有碧綠玉雕琢的竹枝從唇緣伸下

或為御製品，可能是宮廷作坊品，北京，1750～1830
高：5.58 厘米（用唇為基線而測量）
口經/唇經：0.55/1.60 、 1.22 厘米（橢圓形）
蓋：珊瑚，雕小枝，閃玉座
狀態敘述：口緣上有微乎其微的咬痕；一般狀態：就早期的復合性鼻煙壺而言，非常好

來源：
Trojan 珍藏
羅伯特．霍爾（1993）
文獻：
Hall 1992, 編號12
Kleiner 1995, 編號78
Treasury 1, 編號69
展覽：
大英博物館, 倫敦, 1995年6月～10 月

說明：
本壺具有宮廷作坊產品不少的特色。玉的顏色和其中的白色瑕疵是宮廷白玉壺典型的，筍子象徵節節高昇的意義也是頒賜物典型的吉祥內容。再說，膛上部掏得很完好，但底有1.06厘米厚，而這好像也是宮廷作品常見的形式（參見Treasury 1, 編號75的論述）。最有說服力的是白玉和碧玉的配合。故宮珍藏存有一大批白玉茄式煙壺，正好以此種青白玉雕茄身，以碧玉雕茄托，肯定是宮廷作坊的作品。

當然，這都不夠證明本壺一定是宮廷作坊作的，而且這個形式在御製煙壺中是絕無僅有的。但最激發人興趣的是的全體鼻煙壺極罕見的橢圓形斂唇。蓋座的材料很像碧綠玉裝飾的材料，也很妥帖地與唇吻合。座與裝飾的顏色不完全相符，蓋的珊瑚用現代的眼光看有點過火，但兩個或者其中的一個可能是原件。清人熱愛珊瑚，說這個蓋子作於清朝中期也講得通。