A rare yellow jade 'dragon-fish' vase18th/19th century
Boldly carved in openwork and relief as a two-horned scaly dragon-carp with bulging eyes, a protruding pointed snout and a wide open mouth forming the opening of the hollow interior, conjoined with a smaller carp, all above swirling waves and rocky outcrops, the attractive stone of an even yellow tone with chestnut inclusions, box. 12cm (4 3/4in) wide (2).注脚十八/十九世紀 黃玉雕魚龍花插

Provenance:
Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 4212

來源：
香港佳士得，2012年5月30日，拍品編號4212

The carp or liyu 鯉魚 transforming into a dragon long 龍 is associated with the passing of the imperial civil service examinations, hence forming the pun yutiao longmen 魚跳龍門. According to traditional folklore, carp swim upstream in the Yellow River at Hunan towards the Dragon Gate waterfall at Longmen. It is said that the first carp which successfully surpasses the rapids will transform into a fish-dragon yulong 魚龍. Such legend has led to the common saying that, 'a student facing his examinations is like a carp attempting to leap through the Dragon Gate', which bears the metaphor for a scholar who passes the civil service examinations and becomes a high official.

For related examples of jade vases in the form of a dragon-fish, see an example from the Ming dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Art in Quest of Heaven and Truth: Chinese Jades through the Ages, Taipei, 2011, p.133; and two pale green jade examples, Qing dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade 8. Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, nos.167 and 168. Compare also a yellow jade 'dragon-fish' vase, 19th century, which was sold at Christie's New York, 14 December 2011, lot 281.

黃玉質，略帶棕色，圓雕鯉及鰲，鰲龍首，口內掏膛成花插，鱗甲浮雕淺刻，雙鰭前後卷揚，底部細密鐫刻波濤洶湧，一側雕鯉魚一隻，頭部處理不同之外，餘皆同鰲似。

鯉和鰲為題材的玉雕花插在明清十分盛行，有獨佔鰲頭，鯉躍龍門的寄意。「魚躍龍門」的典故出於《三秦記》：「江海魚集龍門下，登者化龍...」。「龍門」是黃河天險之一，水流湍急，洄游之魚至此，勢必奮力激躍。中國人將此自然現象，比賦寒窗苦讀的士子應試中第，由布衣換錦繡，猶如魚幻成龍。

鰲又稱魚龍，傳說為龍子之一，此形象的玉雕花插可參考一件台北故宮藏明代玉鰲魚花插，其鱗甲雙鰭及水波紋之雕琢和本件拍品一脈相承，見鄧淑蘋、張麗端、蔡慶良著，《敬天格物─中國歷代玉器導讀》，台北，2011年，頁133；北京故宮藏有兩件清代青玉魚龍花插亦資參考，見《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇8》，北京，2011年，編號167及168。還參考巴黎佳士得2011年12月14日售出一件黃玉魚龍花插，材質設計結合本件相似，拍品編號281。