A LARGE PALE CELADON JADE CARVING OF LIU HAI, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

Nagatani, Inc., Chicago, 1st August 1961.

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

來源

Nagatani, Inc.，芝加哥，1961年8月1日

史蒂芬•瓊肯三世（1978年逝）收藏

Jade representations of Liu Hai of these impressive proportions are extremely rare and no closely comparable carving appears to be published. A carving of similar size depicting Shakyamuni as an ascetic, attributed to the 18th/19th century, is published in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, pl. LXXIII, where the author notes that the jade workshops of the Qing dynasty were ‘the first to produce human figurines in large quantities. The majority of these statuettes are of Buddhist and Taoist inspiration and quite a few of them attain impressive dimensions’ (p. 160). A smaller 18th century carving of Shoulao and a child, from the collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd October 2018, lot 131.

Smaller carvings of the popular Daoist immortal include one standing on a wave base with the three-legged toad at his feet, sold at Christie’s London, 11th November 2015, lot 528; and another, with Liu Hai similarly bare chested, from the Muwen Tang Collection, offered in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st December 2016, lot 108. See also a carving of Liu Hai outstretched on the back of a large three-legged toad, from the Victor Shaw Collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing, Asia Society, New York, 1980, cat. no. 106.

如本品尺寸碩大之劉海玉雕極其珍罕，按現存記載疑為孤例，比較一釋迦牟尼佛玉雕作例，斷代十八或十九世紀，載於René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé，《Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection》，舊金山，1977年，圖版LXXIII，作者論述，清代玉器作坊首先大量製作玉雕造像，多爲佛、道啓發，其中不乏尺寸碩大之作（頁160）。另比一例，尺寸較小，斷代十八世紀，雕劃壽老童子，出自利國偉爵士收藏，售於香港蘇富比2018年10月3日，編號131。

另可比較數例，其一雕劃劉海及三足蟾，售於倫敦佳士得2015年11月11日，編號528；另比一例，劉海袒胸造型與本品相近，出自沐文堂收藏，售於香港蘇富比2016年12月1日，編號108。再比一例，劉海騎三足蟾背，出自 Victor Shaw 收藏，曾展於《Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing》，亞洲協會，紐約，1980年，編號106。