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A rare pale green and russet jade 'lotus pond' cup Qianlong
Sold for HK$237,500 inc. premium
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A rare pale green and russet jade 'lotus pond' cup
Exquisitely carved in high relief around the exterior with a continuous lotus pond scene, including lotus blooms and leaves on elegant long stems issuing from swirling waves forming the base, with two swallows in flight above, the pale green stone with minor russet streaks at the rim, wood stand.
9.8cm (3 7/8in) wide (2).
Footnotes
清乾隆 青白玉雕蓮花洗
Provenance 來源:
Acquired prior to 10 March 1973, probably from Louis Joseph, London
An English private collection and thence by descent
於1973年3月10日前購得,或購自倫敦古董商Louis Joseph
英國私人收藏,並由家族繼承
The present lot depicting the naturalistic scene of a lotus pond surrounded by its typical flora, with a pair of swallows in flight, was a symbolic attempt to bring the garden into the living quarters of the house, and more specifically into the immediate surroundings of the scholar-official or a member of the Qing Court. Only very large gardens would have been graced with a lotus pond and this scholarly object would have asserted the high status of the owner. Furthermore, the depiction of lotus would have been understood to represent the owner as a person of integrity - a reflection of the famed ability of the flower to remain 'unstained by the muddy surroundings'. Additional religious symbolism would have been imparted by the lotus being one of the Eight Buddhist Emblems, symbolising purity. A swallow, known to arrive in the Spring, heralds good fortune and a prosperous change for the better; a pair of swallows, would therefore double the auspicious wishes.
此器以出於污泥而不染的蓮花為題材,蓮花為八吉祥寶物之一,象徵高尚純潔的品格;燕子是春天的象徵,寓意吉祥。此器雕工流利精巧,且紋飾寓意吉祥,具乾隆時期的特徵,為難得的上乘之作。
