AN EXCEPTIONAL WHITE JADE MUGHAL-STYLE BOX AND COVER Qianlong (3)AN EXCEPTIONAL WHITE JADE MUGHAL-STYLE BOX AND COVERQianlongThe oval box carved in the shape of a flower with lobed petals, the interior divided into four compartments, the base carved with a flower-head and the slightly domed cover surmounted by a flower bud finial, the stone of pale greenish white tone, fitted box. 8.5cm (3 3/8in) wide. (3).清乾隆 痕都斯坦風格白玉蓋盒Provenance:A European private collection, assembled in the 1970s and 1980s來源：歐洲私人舊藏，蒐集於上世紀七十至八十年代When the Qianlong emperor was presented in 1768 with the first pair of jade plates decorated with carved flowers and leaf designs, he wrote a composition judging them to be from 'Hindustan' (north India). He did not realise that many of the so-called 'Hindustan' jade carvings originated from further afield, including the Ottoman Empire which due to its political power and Islamic religion had trade relations as far the Mughal Empire. Twenty-two of the jade wares in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, are indeed attributed to the Ottoman Empire; see Teng Shu-p'ing, Treasures from Across the Kunlun Mountains: Islamic Jades in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 2015, pp.159-160.One of the most significant characteristics of Ottoman jades is their thin bodies. This is consistent with the Qianlong emperor's admiring remarks in his poems when he says that they were 'lustrous and paper-thin', that one could 'see the flowers and leaves though them/ but could not feel and trace', and that "the shadow of your hand outside can be seen from the inside/ the flowers lift and the leaves curl back on themselves' and 'in one's hand, it seems immaterial/ and one must fix the gaze on it to know it has form"; the physical traits described by the Qianlong emperor above are applicable to the present lot, which could be an example copied at the Imperial court.See a related Mughal Empire white jade box in the Taipei National Palace Museum with similar shape, illustrated in ibid, p.115, pl.88; see also a mid Qing dynasty Hindustan jade box with the walls slightly thicker than the present lot, illustrated by Gufang, The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades, Beijing, 2007, p.391.白玉質，鈕圓雕作花蕾狀，蓋與盒身瓜棱形，打磨均勻，薄壁透光。乾隆三十三年，皇帝獲得四件痕都斯坦玉器，從此被其輕薄透光，雕工細膩所癡迷。學者統計，目前可見乾隆帝一共在四十一件痕都斯坦或此類風格玉器上砣刻三十七首御製詩文，其珍重喜愛可見一斑，見鄧淑萍編，《越過昆崙山的珍寶：院藏伊斯蘭玉器特展》，台北，2015年，頁37。痕都斯坦玉器出自蒙兀兒帝國，多取形花卉形狀，打磨至極薄，用料白玉青玉皆有之，可比較台北故宮藏一件蒙兀兒帝國白玉分格盒，其花瓣形盒身與本件相類，見前書，頁115，圖88。北京故宮亦藏有一件清中期痕都斯坦玉盒，惟打磨不及本件輕薄，見古方編，《中國古玉器圖典》，北京，2007年，頁391。