A GILT COPPER ALLOY MOUNTED ROCK CRYSTAL KUNDIKA


CHINA AND NEPAL, CIRCA 15TH AND 19TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61753 30 cm (11 3/4 in.) high
|This rare work of art marries expert Chinese stone carving and Newari metalwork. The vessel's pear-shaped body, made of clear rock crystal, has been hollowed and carved with three undulating chilong (hornless dragons) in high relief. Chilong, a mystical animal symbolizing auspiciousness, has appeared on Chinese jade-ware from as early as the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Each dragon around the vessels has been afforded its own character. One has a large head and long beard, another is more feminine, and the last is a baby dragon – representing a harmonious family of chilong. See a rock crystal chilong vase of lesser quality in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (02.18.821a,b).   Meanwhile, the vessel's gilded lotus foot and shoulder, both also inset with large rock crystals, add splendor to the object. Its spout is hammered in the form of a detailed makara head, showcasing Newari virtuosity in repoussé. The spouts uneven edges suggest a thinner tube coming out of it is now lost. It was probably very similar to that of a 17th-century Nepalese waterpot published in Pal, Art of the Himalayas, New York, 1991, p.63, no.27.   See a gilt bronze mounted rock crystal ritual vessel, with almost identical crystal mouth, in the National Museum of Nepal, Kathmandu (Hsing Yun (ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts & Decorative Art, Kaohsiung, 2013, p.362).   Provenance Sotheby's, New York, 24 September 1997, lot 5 銅鎏金水晶軍持中原及尼泊爾，約十五及十九世紀 喜馬拉雅藝術資源網61753號高30釐米（11 3/4 英吋）  1,000,000-1,500,000港元   此件軍持結合中原石刻及紐瓦爾金工，至為罕有。壼身為梨狀，以高透度水晶製成，表面刻三螭龍遊走之高浮雕。螭龍無角，為傳說中之瑞獸，意謂吉祥，早在漢朝（公元前206年至公元220年）玉器上已經出現。三龍形態各異，分別為公龍、雌龍、及幼龍，組成美滿螭龍家庭。參見藏於紐約大都會博物館質素略遜之水晶螭龍瓶（館藏編號02.18.821a,b）。 本瓶之銅鎏金蓮花底及壼肩皆鑲有大顆水晶，令整體更添華貴。壼嘴為精工槌成的「摩伽罗」獸首，展示紐瓦爾之錘疊神工。壼嘴邊緣不整，揭示本應接一較細之管，惜已失落。推測甚為類似載於Pal，《Art of the Himalayas》，紐約，1991年，63頁，27號之一件十七世紀尼泊爾水瓶。 另參閱一件藏於加德滿都尼泊爾國家博物館的銅鎏金水晶祭瓶（星雲編《佛教藝術百科》，高雄，2013年，頁362），該瓶之水晶壼口與本作品極為相似。   來源 蘇富比，紐約，1997年9月24日，拍品5號