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Property from a Distinguished English Private Collection

英國顯赫私人收藏
Lot 17

A very fine pale green jade carving of a finger citron
Qianlong

Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
4 June 2015, 10:30 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific Place

HK$250,000 - HK$400,000

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A very fine pale green jade carving of a finger citron

Qianlong
The fruit naturalistically carved with thick curling tendrils issuing from a gnarled stem with curling leaves and a smaller finger citron to one side, the interior deeply hollowed, the stone of a soft pale green tone with an attractive polish, wood stand.
16.2cm (6 3/8in) high (2).

Footnotes

清乾隆 青白玉雕佛手擺件

Provenance 來源:
S.Marchant & Son Ltd., London
An English private collection

倫敦古董商S.Marchant & Son Ltd.
英國私人收藏

The Chinese name for the fruit, 佛手 foshou, is also a pun meaning 福 fu 'blessings' or 福 fu 'riches', followed by 壽 shou 'longevity'. In addition, the finger citron fruit was thought to resemble the hand of Buddha, with its idealised, lotus-shaped 'fingers'. This association with Buddha, combined with its strong, pleasant fragrance, made it a suitable altar offering to celebrate the New Year.

These numerous associations also made the fruit a popular subject matter for artists, and several examples can be found in important museums and private collections. An example from the Qing Court Collection, is illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 9: Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.159. Another pale green jade finger citron vase from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated by M.Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, p.52, no.51, where the author notes that such jade vases would have been considered visually more attractive than the natural fruit, and that powdered incense would have been placed in the vase cavity to replicate the natural fragrance. A further example is illustrated by R.Keverne, ed., Jade, London, 1995, p.165, fig.94; and see another related example, 18th century, from the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, illustrated by C.Q.Mason in Spinach Green and Mutton-fat White: Chinese Jades of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Gainesville, Florida, 2006, p.40.

Compare also a related jade finger citron carving, 17th/18th century, illustrated by R.Kleiner in Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl.202, later sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1396.

「佛手」與「福壽」二字諧音，有增福添壽的寓意，也為清宮常見之題材。

清宮舊藏一件玉佛手可作比較，見《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編9》，北京，2011年，編號159；另見一例藏於倫敦維多利亞及阿爾伯博物館，著錄於M.Wilson，《Chinese Jades》，倫敦，2004年，頁52，編號51；再參考R.Keverne編，《Jade》，倫敦，1995年，頁165，圖94；另一件十八世紀的例子藏於佛羅里達州大學Samuel P. Harn藝術博物館，見C.Q.Mason著，《Spinach Green and Mutton-fat White: Chinese Jades of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)》，蓋恩斯維爾，2006年，頁40。

另對比一件十七/十八世紀的玉雕佛手，參見R.Kleiner著，《Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman》，香港，1996年，圖版202，後來拍賣於香港佳士得，2006年11月28日，拍品1396。

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