A HARDSTONE-INLAID AND JADE-EMBELLISHED SILVER HAND MIRROR

Qing Dynasty

Footnotes

清 銀燒藍百寶嵌白玉龍鉤手柄鏡

This mirror features a pure silver base decorated with a meticulously carved white jade openwork basket design set at its centre, adorned with exquisite floral and leaf motifs around the edges. The mirror surface is coated with enamel glaze, which forms a brilliant glaze layer after high-temperature firing. Subsequently, the cloisonné technique is employed to skilfully inlay precious materials such as agate and jade. Silver plates welded with 'shou' seal script motif separate various gemstones. The handle features a three-dimensional white jade openwork dragon motif, with the dragon head gazing back while its body winds around to connect with the mirror back, symbolizing the 'Dragon Teaching Its Young' motif.

Originally a garment accessory from the Warring States to Han dynasties, the belt hook evolved during the Ming and Qing periods into a refined scholar's plaything or decorative piece. The dragon-hook handle design inherits the ancient belt-hook form, imbuing this functional object with classical elegance. Such multi-crafted artifacts, predominantly produced in the Qing dynasty by the imperial workshops or Jiangnan workshops, fully exemplify the quintessential characteristics of the era's pinnacle craftsmanship and aesthetics.

此手柄鏡以純銀為基底，鏡身中部鑲嵌經精雕細琢的鏤空花籃造型白玉，周邊以精美的花葉紋飾點綴。鏡面施以琺瑯彩釉，經高溫焙燒後形成絢麗釉層，繼而採用百寶嵌工藝，將瑪瑙、玉石等名貴材質巧妙嵌合。以銀片焊接篆體壽字紋飾間隔各類寶石，配以白玉立體鏤空龍紋帶鉤作為手柄，其龍首回眸，龍身蜿蜒銜接鏡背，取意「蒼龍教子」。

帶鉤初為戰國至漢代服飾配件，至明清時期演化為文人雅玩或陳設器具。龍鉤手柄的設計承襲古代帶鉤形制，賦予這一實用器物以典雅古韻。此類集多種工藝於一體的器物，在清代多出自宮廷造辦處或江南作坊，充分彰顯了清代頂尖工藝美學的典型特徵。