AN EXQUISITE PAIR OF WHITE JADE CUPS AND STANDS Qianlong (7)PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 紳士藏品AN EXQUISITE PAIR OF WHITE JADE CUPS AND STANDSQianlongEach cup of deep bell shape raised on a ring foot that sits within the circular platform centering the stand formed by eight flared petal-shaped lobes, all on a flower-shaped footrim, the finely polished semi-translucent stone of pure white tone, one stand with natural russet markings, box. Each cup: 8.5cm (3 3/8in) diam. (2); stand: 12.3cm (4 7/8in) diam. (2). (7).清乾隆 白玉茶杯連蓮式盞托一對Provenance:A highly important private Swiss family collection, purchased in the 1950sMarchant, LondonA distinguished Asian private collectionExhibited and illustrated:90th Anniversary Exhibition Ninety Jades for 90 Years, Marchant, London, 2015, cat.no.85來源：重要瑞士家族收藏，購於1950年代馬錢特，倫敦亞洲顯赫私人收藏展覽與著錄：《玉器九十，90周年特展》，馬錢特，倫敦，2015年，編號85The present pair of jade cups is elegantly decorated to best show off the superb quality of the stone which is evenly white and flawless. The floral elements of the stand are characteristic of the artistic repertoire of the period, most commonly found on Mughal-style jades. However it is extremely rare to find a pair of white jade cups and only a handful of examples appear to have been published. A closely related white jade 'shou' tea bowl with a petal-shaped saucer in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The World Rejoices As One: Celebrating Imperial Birthdays in the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2015, p.277, no.167; a pair of related white jade tea cups in the Palace Museum collection, illustrated in ibid., no.168; compare also to a pair of white jade cups and stands, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware, Hong Kong, 1995, pp.250-251, nos.205-206. A pair of Qianlong white jade cups and stands, previously in the collection of Mrs. Florence Van der Kamp, was sold at Christie's New York, 24 March 2011, lot 1506.白玉質，圓唇斜鼓腹收於圈足，圈足琢磨工整，與盞臺嚴合，盞臺八出菊瓣狀，花蕊起為台座，圈足隨花瓣委角，玉質白潤，打磨精細，餘無他飾，素雅高潔。 元明玉杯常帶雙耳，又有單耳者，或龍形，或花型，清代雍正帝則獨愛素工，更將有工的玉杯盞改為素器，雍正四年清檔記載「（三月）初七日員外郎海望持出白玉盃一對，白玉托一對， 奉㫖，此托着砣素，其盃耳子收拾，欽此。」見《清宮內務府造辦處檔案總匯》，北京，2007年，卷2，頁193。乾隆早期亦偏好素雅，他亦曾學其父將玉杯之雙耳磨去而改做素器，乾隆十年清檔記載「（二月）二十五日...㫖將青玉杯去耳磨光其瑪瑙杯配座，欽此。」見前書，卷14，頁107。雍正和乾隆早期熱衷於改制舊杯很有可能也是受限於玉料，當時和田玉路未開，宮中亦無太多高級白玉，而琢製成套杯盞所耗玉料極多，蓋開料合用者少。清乾隆二十二年（1757年）徹底平復新疆回部之後，和田玉料得以大量輸入中原，此後乾隆宮廷玉器之取料及工藝方到巔峰。本對白玉杯盞應是乾隆巔峰時期之作品，其玉質白潤，琢磨精細，取形敦厚，卻見光而透。北京故宮藏一件白玉壽字碗，為茶碗，形制與本件頗似，拋光打磨亦類似，盞亦作花瓣形，見《普天同慶：清代萬壽盛典》，北京，2015年，頁277，編號167；故宮另有一對上等白玉琢製之茶杯，與本對茶杯頗似，見前書，編號168。又可比較故宮藏一對白玉杯盞，見《故宮博物院藏文物大系·玉器》，香港，1995年，頁250-251，編號205-206。Florence Van der Kamp夫人藏一對乾隆白玉杯盞亦可比較之，其盞托呈四出花口，2011年3月24日售於紐約佳士得，拍品編號1506。