AN IMPERIAL ZITAN ‘DRAGON’ TRAY WITH JADE INSET, QIANLONG PERIOD

Zitan wood and spinach green jade
China, Qianlong period (1736-1795)


This masterly carved Zitan wood tray is of rectangular form with rounded corners, supported on short bracket feet. The wide borders are carved in relief depicting five winged auspicious bats and three ornamental shapes formed by ruyi, all connected by a neatly carved fabric string.

The central image on the interior is that of two Imperial, five-clawed, dragons in pursuit of the cosmic pearl amidst crushing waves. The pearl itself is the spinach green inset which shows an intricate meander border and is shallow as its use was for serving a bowl or cup.

Shape: tray shape
Dimensions: 32.5 x 24 cm, 3 cm height
Weight: 1,043 grams
Condition: excellent condition
Provenance: from the collection of the Heritage Museum of Asian Art, Chicago, Illinois (label on the backside in place)

Auction results comparison: For a Zitan ‘dragon’ box of comparable quality see Sotheby’s, PORTABLE TREASURES – THE DR S.Y. YIP COLLECTION, 05 APRIL 2017, HONG KONG, lot 3505. For a small jade inset Zitan table screen of the Qianlong period see Sotheby’s, IMPORTANT CHINESE ART, 05 APRIL 2017, HONG KONG, lot 3634.

乾隆年御制紫檀嵌玉龍紋托盤
紫檀，碧玉
中国，乾隆（1736 – 1795）

這件雕刻精美的紫檀木托盤為矩形，圓角，短足。 寬闊的邊框上四角及一邊中間可見吉祥蝙蝠浮雕，其他三邊框中央如意浮雕上，浮雕由一條浮雕絲綫紋串聯。

托盤中央兩條氣勢宏偉的五爪飛龍，遨游于波浪中，追逐戲耍火珠。火珠由菠菜綠碧玉製成，複雜的曲折邊界，淺凹，因為它用於放置碗或杯。

造型：托盤
尺寸：32.5 x 24 厘米, 高3 厘米
重量： 1,043 克
品相：优秀
来源：來自芝加哥亞洲美術館館藏遺留，伊利諾斯（背面可見標簽）

拍賣結果比較：相似紫檀龍紋盒可見 Sotheby’s, PORTABLE TREASURES – THE DR S.Y. YIP COLLECTION, 05 APRIL 2017, HONG KONG, lot 3505。一件乾隆年小型紫檀鑲玉插屏可見Sotheby’s, IMPORTANT CHINESE ART, 05 APRIL 2017, HONG KONG, lot 3634.