A very rare white jade inscribed 'Heart Sutra' pendant


Song Dynasty or laterThe octagonal columnar pendant framed on either side by circular waisted terminals, exquisitely and very finely incised on all facets with a script rendered in the shuanggou, 'outlined' technique, one facet inscribed with the date of seventh month, Autumn, second year of Xuanhe (corresponding to 1120 AD), and 'Respectfully made by the Jade Workshop of Xiuneisi', the centre well hollowed, the jade stone of even white tone, box. 6.6cm (2 5/8in) long (2).
|宋或較晚 白玉刻《心經》𤨕「皇宋宣和二年秋七月吉日，修內司玉作所虔製。」刻款Provenance:Durwin Tang Collection來源：鄧德雍收藏This pendant belongs to a very rare group of twenty-six white jade pieces, all inscribed with a Xuanhe date from the reign of Huizong of the Northern Song dynasty, as well as the Imperial Jade Workshop name of Xiuneisi. This group includes the following:Two pendants in the Palace Museum, Beijing, one similar to the present lot but incised with poems, Song dynasty, the other also incised with the 'Heart Sutra', Jin dynasty, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 5 Tang, Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Beijing, 2011, pp.165 and 227, nos.180 and 265.One pendant in the Capital Museum, Beijing, dated to the first year of Xuanhe, Song dynasty, similarly incised with the 'Heart Sutra', is illustrated by Yu Ping, ed., Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics series: Jades, Beijing, 2002, no.88. One pendant is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, unusually inscribed with a Zhengzhi ('politics') reign date, and dated as late 19th/ early 20th century, see J.C.S.Lin, The Immortal Stone--Chinese Jades from the Neolithic period to the twentieth century, London, 2009, p.82, no.73.Eight pieces in the British Museum, London, from the Oscar Raphael Collection; including one very similar 'heart sutra' pendant. This group has been re-dated from Song dynasty to Republic period. The group includes a similar 'heart sutra' pendant bearing the same date as the present lot; however, it differs in also bearing two additional characters xun mu (' to perfume and cleanse'), which does not appear on the present lot; see J.C.Y,Watt, Chinese Jades from the Han to the Ch'ing, New York, 1980, pp.145-147 and nos.120-123.Two in the Art Institute of Chicago, one each in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, and nine from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III, which were later sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 132. A further inscribed white jade columnar pendant, Song dynasty or later, inscribed with the date of the first year of Xuanhe and poems, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3244.There has been a long-standing debate over the dating of these inscribed jades with opinions ranging from those attributing a Song dynasty date - as demonstrated in the date attributed by the Palace Museum, Beijing and the Capital Museum, Beijing - and those now attributing a Republic period date, such as the British Museum, London. The points of discussion include the question over whether the function of the Xiuneisi, whose main role was that of construction and maintenance of Imperial buildings, is likely to have also included jade carvings, as another department, the Wenxuyuan is mentioned in early 12th century records as responsible for carving jades for Imperial use. J.Watt also questions the plausibility that Buddhist texts would have been commissioned by a devout Daoist emperor. A further concern relates to a textual analysis of the inscriptions. Watt concludes in suggesting a possible Jin-Southern Song to Yuan dynasty date, a time when the reputation of the Xiuneisi was high and the era of Xuanhe was perceived nostalgically and elevated to an age of elegance and refinement.For a full discussion regarding dating of Xiuneisi inscibed jades, see J.C.Y.Watt, Chinese Jades from the Han to the Ch'ing, New York, 1980, pp.145-147 and nos.120-123; and see also J.F.So's essay in the footnote to Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 132.形制、玉材與本件拍品類似，皆署宣和年款及修內司玉作的玉𤨕，查存二十六件，散見於國內外博物館，其中包括：北京故宮藏一件白玉刻詩𤨕及一件白玉刻經文𤨕，見《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器篇》，卷五，北京，2011年，頁165及227，編號180及265；首都博物館藏一件宣和元年款白玉心經𤨕，見《北京文物精粹大系》，玉器卷，北京，2002年，編號88；英國劍橋大學菲茨威廉博物館藏一件白玉刻《晉白紵舞歌詩右一曲》𤨕，定為晚清，見 J.C.S.Lin著，《The Immortal Stone-Chinese Jades from the Neolithic period to the twentieth century》，倫敦，2009年，頁82；英國Oscar Raphael舊藏八件白玉𤨕，現藏大英博物館，曾定為宋，但後定為民國。其中包括一件白玉《心經》𤨕， 和此件拍品極似，亦為宣和二年款，惟其後落款在「虔製」前多「熏沐」二字，見屈志仁著，《Chinese Jades from the Han to the Ch'ing》，紐約，1980年，頁145至147，編號120至123。芝加哥藝術博物館藏有兩件；香港藝術館及美國克利夫蘭藝術館各藏一件；Stephen Junkunc三世舊藏九件，後售於佳士得紐約，2007年3月22日，拍品編號132，另有一件宋白玉詩文宣和元年款𤨕售於佳士得香港，2014年5月28日，拍品編號3244。此組玉𤨕斷代歷有爭論，北京故宮、首都博物館等傾向定於宋代，而大英博物館及菲茨威廉博物定為晚清民國。並且，關於宋代修內司的職責尚無定論，南宋官窯有修內司燒造之說，此組玉𤨕又明署修內司玉作所，似乎可以推論修內司為宋代內廷管理內務的機構，類似後來清代之內務府。然而屈志仁認為道君皇帝宋徽宗不太可能下令製作一組刻有佛教經文的玉𤨕，故此他進一步指出此類宣和款詩文經文玉𤨕更有可能是南宋和金代，以至於元代的托古之作，蓋因彼時修內司器物備受追崇。相關討論參見前引屈志仁著作，以及蘇芳淑為佳士得紐約2007年3月22日拍賣，拍品編號132所撰文章。