A white jade 'chilong and elephant' rhyton and cover, Qing dynasty, 18th century | 清十八世紀 白玉螭龍紋象首蓋觥

The vessel is inspired in its gong form and design by archaic bronze wine vessels, first made during the second phase of the Anyang period; rapidly replacing the animal-shaped zun vessels. One of the earliest published jade examples, excavated from the tomb of the King of Nanyue in present-day Guangzhou province, dating to circa 122 BC, is illustrated by Peter Lam, Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue, Hong Kong, 1991, pl. D44. Jessica Rawson suggests the possibility that the rhyton form was introduced into China from the West, probably in silver or a precious stone, see Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 71.

This form was revived during the Song dynasty. The Qianlong emperor advocated taking inspiration from antiquity in form and design, proposing to 'restore ancient ways', suggesting that jade carvers turn to antiquity for models, which would enable them to imbue their designs with simplicity and honesty, and so achieve refinement and elegance. The 'ancient ways' referred to the intrinsic values of sincerity, simplicity, and happy exuberance; see Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, p. 49.

It is very rare to find an archaistic jade rhyton cup carved with an elephant-head such as the present lot, see a closely related pale celadon jade rhyton cup, also with the elephant-head design, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Hong Kong, 2006, p.72, no.60. Compare also a related yellow jade rhyton cup but with a ‘dragon-head base, Qianlong period, from the De An Tang Collection, and later sold in these rooms, 13th October 2021, lot 3605.

白玉略閃青灰色，質地瑩潤，色均匀，整器呈象首倒置狀，下部琢象首，象鼻與一對象牙成器底支撐器體。蓋橢圓形，蓋頂與器壁分別高浮雕三螭龍，器身自上而下，以淺浮雕分別飾團壽紋、雲雷紋、如意雲紋三層紋飾。此類器物，屬宮廷陳設器，其造型及紋飾皆具古意，多為仿古青銅器。但本器造型明顯出位，怪異而大膽，鮮明而獨特。

此類螭龍負皿之式，取自上古青銅觥，屬祭祀酒器，最早見於晚商安陽時期，其出現取代了動物形青銅尊的地位。玉器之例，最早出版見出土於現今廣州地區的南越皇墓，約公元前122年的一件玉角形杯，參見林業強著，《南越王墓玉器》，香港，1991年，圖版D44。羅森教授認為早期的角形杯很有可能是以銀或珍貴石材製成，並由西方引入中國，見羅森著，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995，頁71。

至宋代，復古之風又興起，宋人取其形而復之。盛清時乾隆帝嗜古如痴，崇尚慕古之風，認為古典器物樸素、精純、高雅、有意涵，為此曾命梁詩正等人纂修《西清古鑑》，記錄清代宮廷所收藏商周至唐代青銅器過千件，繼而為玉匠提供靈感，詳閱張麗端著《宮廷之雅：清代仿古及畫意玉器特展圖錄》，台北，1997年，頁49。此鳳紋玉觥，取法古器，然造型裝飾皆有盛清新風，正是受到乾隆帝這種「慕古求新」審美影響下而產生的精美之作。

同類玉觥中，以象首倒置為器底的設計非常少見，參看清宮舊藏一件清中期青玉象首觥，《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系．玉器(下)》，上海，2008年，頁159，編號120。另見德安堂藏一件清乾隆黃玉龍首觥，後售於香港蘇富比2021年10月13日，編號3605。