A 108-BEAD BUDDHIST ROSARY NECKLACE WITH JADE, AGATE, AND CARVED RUDRAKSHA BEADS, QING DYNASTY

拍品描述

A 108-BEAD BUDDHIST ROSARY NECKLACE WITH JADE, AGATE, AND CARVED RUDRAKSHA BEADS, QING DYNASTY China, 1644-1912. The necklace is composed of one hundred and eight carved fruit-nut beads, arranged according to the traditional Buddhist rosary system and divided into four sections by larger white hardstone beads. The lower section is further embellished with two tiger's-eye beads suspending a white jade chime-form pendant, an agate dzi bead, and four fruit-nut beads, as well as a white jade ring suspending a pierced apple- and emerald-green jadeite pendant of flattened form carved as a cluster of lotus leaves. Dimensions: Length 93.5 cm Expert’s note: The arrangement of the present necklace, comprising 108 principal beads divided into four groups of 27, derives from the ancient Buddhist rosary tradition. The number 108 holds particular significance in Buddhism, and rosaries of this type were used for counting mantra recitations and other devotional practices. Seed and nut beads were particularly suited to this purpose. The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, for example, preserves a 19th-century Tibetan rudraksha rosary comprising 108 beads with separators and various additional attachments. Rudraksha beads are made from the hardened seeds of trees of the genus Elaeocarpus, whose naturally deeply grooved surfaces give them their distinctive appearance. The Sanskrit term rudrākṣa literally means “eye of Rudra,” an ancient name of Shiva, and such beads have been regarded as sacred in India since antiquity, particularly in Shaivite practice. The fruits are stripped of their outer flesh and the hard seeds cleaned, pierced, and strung as rosaries (mala) for counting prayers and mantra recitations. Their use subsequently spread into Himalayan Buddhist traditions, where rudraksha rosaries, frequently comprising 108 beads, became well established. The Qing court necklace, or chaozhu, developed from this Buddhist rosary tradition, retaining its fundamental arrangement of 108 beads in four groups of 27. As formal court regalia, however, the chaozhu assumed a highly codified form, typically incorporating four larger fotou (“Buddha-head” beads), a fotouta, a long beiyun (“back cloud”), and three subsidiary jinian (“reminder”) strands. The present necklace lacks these characteristic elements and should therefore be understood as a Buddhist devotional necklace rather than a formal chaozhu, while clearly reflecting the same rosary tradition from which the Qing court necklace evolved. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2018, lot 2979 Price: HKD 475,000 or approx. EUR 61,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark Note the size (115.5 cm) and that this necklace comprises thirty-nine fruit-nut beads, of which some are of similar naturalistic style as the present lot and others are more elaborately carved. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3367 Price: HKD 1,250,000 or approx. EUR 169,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Note the size (105.5 cm), intricately carved nut beads, different stones, and dating inscription.

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