A jade 'dragon and phoenix' dish, Han dynasty | 漢　浮雕龍鳳螭獸紋玉盤

Splendor Jade Collection of the Han Dynasty, Taipei, 2025, no. 57.

This exquisite jade dish is a remarkable testament to the highly sophisticated jade carving traditions of antiquity, strongly exhibiting the stylistic hallmarks of the Han dynasty. Carved from a single boulder of celadon and yellowish jade, the stone has acquired an attractive calcified alteration through centuries of burial, imbuing it with a profound sense of antiquity.

In ancient China, jade was a material of supreme value. The creation of a hollow vessel such as this dish required the laborious and risky process of hollowing out a substantial block of precious material. Consequently, jade vessels are exceptionally rare compared to flat ornaments like bi discs or huang pendants. They were luxury items par excellence, strictly reserved for the highest ranks of the aristocracy or the imperial family, serving as ultimate symbols of status and power.

The most striking feature of this dish is the dynamic high-relief decoration band encircling its exterior. Between two raised borders, the artisan has masterfully carved mythical creatures including dragons, phoenixes, chi-dragons, bears and monkey-like beasts. The creatures are depicted in various perspectives, the dragon and phoenix in profile, while the beast and chi dragon are seen from above. They interact intensely, stepping, grasping, and intertwining with one another amidst swirling mists. This 'cloud-like' transformation of animal forms, characterised by fluid, sinuous lines and an overwhelming sense of rhythmic motion, is a classic feature of Han dynasty art.

Furthermore, the flat interior base is finely incised with interlocking cloud scrolls, likely a stylised abstraction of the mythical beasts or celestial vapours. This subtle interior decoration harmonises with the bold exterior relief, demonstrating the artisan's exceptional creative vision. Extant ancient jade vessels of this calibre are exceedingly rare. For a closely related example featuring similar dynamic high-relief decoration of mythical creatures, including dragons, chi dragons, and bears, see a Han dynasty jade wine vessel, zun, excavated in 1990 from the tomb of Liu Hong at Huangshanzhun, Anxiang, Hunan Province, and now preserved in the Hunan Provincial Museum, illustrated in Gu Fang, Zhongguo chutu yuqi quanji [The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China], Vol. 10, Beijing, 2005, p. 238. 

出版

《漢家琳琅》，台北，2025年，編號57

本品青黃玉質，歷經千載歲月而局部帶有白化沁色，古意盎然。盤由整塊玉料掏膛雕琢而成，器形規整，折沿淺腹。上古時代，玉料極為珍貴，製作此類立體中空容器需耗費大量上等玉材，且掏膛工藝難度極高，稍有不慎即會毀損整器。因此，相較於玉璧、玉璜等扁平玉器，玉製容器的產量極為稀少，通常僅見於最高等級的貴族或皇室墓葬之中，彰顯了使用者尊貴的身份與地位。

此玉盤於其腹部外壁精雕細琢的浮雕紋飾非常精美。匠人以高超的技法，於兩周凸稜之間雕琢龍、鳳、螭、熊、等神獸。姿態各異，龍首與鳳頭作側面刻畫，而似猴之神獸與螭首則作俯視狀。四獸穿梭於雲氣之間，藉由蹬踩、抓舉、勾連等動作相互交疊，形成強烈的互動與視覺張力。這種將動物形體與雲氣紋巧妙結合的「雲氣化」處理手法，線條流暢婉轉，充滿了生機與動感，是漢代藝術中極具代表性的時代特徵。

盤內平底處以游絲毛雕技法線刻勾連雲氣紋，線條若隱若現，連綿不絕，應為神獸或雲氣的抽象變體。此種內外呼應的裝飾手法，豐富了器物的層次感。遍查海內外公私收藏，與本品相類之高古玉容器屈指可數。關於本品外壁生動的高浮雕神獸紋飾，可參考一件極為重要的東漢玉尊。該玉尊於1990年出土於湖南省安鄉縣黃山頭劉弘墓，現藏於湖南博物院，其器表同樣以高浮雕技法滿飾穿梭於雲氣間的靈獸，展現出高度一致的時代風格與藝術張力，見古方，《中國出土玉器全集》，卷10，北京，2005年，頁238。