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The rectangular screen is crisply carved to one side with a scene depicting a procession of foreign tribute bearers journeying up a mountainous tree-lined path with a city gate visible in the distance. The tribute bearers carry treasures such as a book, a tusk, and a hawk, one is accompanied by a Buddhist lion as he holds a brocade ball. The reverse is carved with a foreign ship and its crew sailing amidst crashing waves beneath towering clifs. The stone is of an even celadon tone with some minor russet inclusions.
11? in. (29 cm.) high, wood stand
£30,000-50,000
PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s London, 24 November 1964, lot 150.
From a private English collection, amassed in the 1960s.
The present jade table screen is an exceptional example of its type, demonstrating superb quality of carving and a very rare choice of subject matter. It is interesting to note the type of ship, which appears to be infuenced by European or Middle-Eastern design, and in some cases bears similarity to Portuguese ships depicted on Japanese renditions of the frst contact with foreign envoys. It is possible that the tribute bearers hail from the Near or Middle East, as there are also similarities evident with Chinese depictions of the Sogdians. The fact that one tribute bearer at the head of the procession holds a hawk or falcon on a perch may also indicate either Mongolia or the Near and Middle East as their origin, as falconry was a cherished skill honed in these regions. Other tribute bearers hold lotus fowers, elixir bottles, books, and bowls of fruit. Perhaps the most unusual is the tribute bearer leading a Buddhist lion on a leash as he beckons it with a brocade ball held aloft in his left hand.
The size of the procession, in addition to both the type of tribute and impressive vessel used to carry the entourage, suggests that this would have been an envoy of great importance, perhaps sent to pay tribute to the emperor himself, and was thus commemorated on the present jade screen.
清乾隆 青玉進寶圖插屏
來源:英國私人珍藏;1960年代入藏;倫敦蘇富比1964年11月24日拍 賣,拍品第150號