拍賣筆記 vol.502 蘇富比香港2026：何鴻卿爵士，唐或以前玉駱駝首，安思遠舊藏，萬古之幽專場 - Sotheby’s HK 2026, A Calcified Jade Head Of A Camel, Sir Joseph Hotung, Robert H. Ellsworth, Tang Dynasty Or Earlier

何鴻卿爵士的玉器大多捐贈給大英博物館，此件有高古之意味。駱駝是中國藏家比較沒有辦法欣賞的品類，但實際上駱駝的母題自漢代開始就流行，此件14cm高，案頭珍玩，眼睛雕刻十分到位。（SACA觀察，2026.10.24）

唐或以前　玉駱駝首

A rare calcified jade head of a camel, Tang dynasty or earlier

Live auction begins on:

2026 October 30, 10:00 AM HKT

Estimate

400,000 - 800,000 HKD

Description

h. 14 cm

來源

安思遠（1929–2014年），紐約，1987年1月14日

何鴻卿爵士（1930–2021年）收藏

倫敦蘇富比2022年12月9日，編號244（其一）

出版

羅森，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》， 倫敦，1995年，圖版26:2

此玉駱駝首雕工精湛，極為罕見，為我們一窺隋唐時期達官貴人奢華之墓葬明器提供珍貴實證。玉質已受沁鈣化，呈灰褐色。駝首微昂，雙目圓睜，眼廓雕琢細緻，鼻樑修長微彎，下唇外凸，雙耳小巧，神態生動逼真。頸部下方帶孔，推測原應與其他材質（如木材或織物）製作之軀幹相拼合。

隋唐時期，雙峰駱駝乃帝國繁榮與包容之象徵，代表著絲綢之路之貿易往來及中亞西域珍奇物資之輸入。羅森教授探討此器時所指，大型釉陶俑於當時已屬造價昂貴、彰顯墓主顯赫身分之物；而如本品般，以精雕玉石作首之複合材質俑，其珍貴與等級之高，不言而喻，足見墓主身分之尊貴。

目前尚未見有其他玉石雕駱駝首之作例出土或傳世。唯可參考江蘇鎮江唐墓出土之一件陶製駱駝首，其形制與本品具相似之處，圖載於〈江蘇鎮江東晉南北朝唐宋墓〉，《考古》，1985年第2期，頁136，圖6。

Provenance

Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (1929–2014), New York, 14th January 1987. 

Collection of Sir Joseph Hotung (1930–2021).

Sotheby’s London, 9th December 2022, lot 244 (part of lot).

Literature

Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 26:2.

This exceptionally rare and masterfully carved camel head presents a fascinating glimpse into the luxurious tomb furnishings of the Sui and Tang periods. Carved from a stone that has now calcified to a warm grey-brown tone, the head is sensitively rendered with a slender, slightly downturned snout, a protruding lower lip, and finely detailed eyes framed by delicate ridges. The underside of the neck features a socket, suggesting that this head was originally attached to a body made of a different, perhaps perishable, material, such as wood or textile.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Bactrian camel was a potent symbol of the cosmopolitan nature of the empire, representing the thriving Silk Road trade and the influx of exotic goods from Central Asia and the West. As Professor Jessica Rawson notes in her discussion of this specific piece, large glazed ceramic tomb figures were already expensive and indicative of high status; a composite figure featuring a meticulously carved stone head such as the present lot would have been an item of even greater prestige and value, underscoring the wealth and importance of the tomb occupant.

While there are no known direct counterparts in stone or jade, a ceramic camel head of related form, excavated from a Tang dynasty tomb in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, is illustrated in 'Jiangsu Zhenjiang Dongjin Nanbeichao Tang Song mu' [Tombs of the Eastern Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu], Kaogu, 1985, no. 2, p. 136, fig. 6.