A superb white jade 'pine' flower receptacle, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白玉松樹樁花插

Carved from a lustrous white jade stone with attractive russet highlights, the present flower receptacle is naturalistically rendered in the form of a pine tree trunk, detailed with heaps of pine needles and networks of gnarled branches skillfully carved in varying levels of relief. The beauty of the stone, together with the intricate carving, imbues the piece with energy and life. It is truly a masterpiece and a testimony to the pursuit of harmonious beauty and technical virtuosity in jade carvings during the Qianlong period. 

Pine has always been a popular subject matter in Chinese art and literature. It is known to survive and grow well upon frost and drought, making it an apt metaphor for the literati's perseverance and unswerving loyalty. The present receptacle serves as a fitting decoration placed on a scholar's desk, to give inspiration and pleasure while its owner contemplates aspects of life and virtues.

Confucius says, 'superior men found the likeness of all excellent qualities in jade'. The beauty of jade has been appreciated and revered in China for thousands of years. It was highly praised by Xu Shen in the Han dynasty dictionary Shuowen Jiezi ('Discussing Writing and Analysing Characters'): 'jade, the beauty among all stones, is endowed with five virtues: charity typified by its lustre, bright yet warm; rectitude by its translucency, revealing the colour and markings within; wisdom by the purity and penetrating quality of its note when the stone is struck; courage, in that it may be broken but never bent; equity, in that it has sharp angles which yet injure none.’ The endowment of jade with five virtues attests to the literati's adoration toward the stone and their aspiration to attain such qualities.

花插白玉質，肌理細膩盈潤。松樹樁式，松針如傘，層次井然；山岩兀立，松皮如鱗；虬枝盤曲，蒼勁有力。刀法俐落，雕琢紋飾真實自然，可見工匠高超技藝。

松，遇霜雪而不凋，遇乾旱仍能生機盎然，猶如文士堅毅不屈的風骨，自古以來已被文人雅仕所稱頌。古人視松為堅貞之引喻，並不斷被作為文學、藝術的創作題材。此花插構思精妙不露俗氣，予人濃濃的文人生活品味，置於案几，賞心悅目。

孔子曰︰「君子如玉」；東漢許慎《說文解字》說道：「玉，石之美者有五德。潤澤以溫，仁之方也；䚡理自外，可以知中，義之方也；其聲舒揚，專以遠聞，智之方也；不撓而折，勇之方也；銳廉而不忮，潔之方也。」古人將玉的特徵比作為人應有的五種品德：仁、義、智、勇、潔，對玉的喜愛，也是基於道德和精神，學習玉蘊含的高尚品質及情操。