A CELADON AND RUSSET JADE 'THREE RAMS' PLAQUE WITH AN IMPERIAL PROSE PLAQUE: MING DYNASTY INSCRIPTION: QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD, DATED TO 1772

of rounded rectangular form, the stone of a celadon tone with patches of toffee brown, carved in relief on the front with three rams, two recumbent and one standing, in a craggy grotto beneath an overhanging pine tree, the reverse finely incised with an inscription titled Kaitai shuo ('prose on renewal and a change of fortune or prosperity'), followed by the characters reading Qianlong renchen mengchun yuzhi ('made by his majesty in the first month of the renchen year during the Qianlong period', corresponding to 1772), ended with two seals tai and pu ('unpolished jade')

Collection of Lord and Lady Cunliffe.

There is general wear and minor scratches to the surface of the plaque. The overall condition is very good.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The ram is a traditional emblem of good luck, since the Chinese term for ram (or goat), yang, is a homophone of yang, ‘sun’, and represents the male or positive principle in the yin-yang duality. The Chinese character for ram is also used as a variant for a similar character pronounced xiang, which means happiness. Three rams, san yang, are considered a particularly auspicious symbol, evoking the expression san yang kai tai, the awakening of nature in spring, which signifies good luck and happiness. San yang shen are the three yang spirits in Daoism, the ‘original spirit’, the ‘spirit that knows’, and the ‘real spirit’.  In the Chinese lunar calendar san yang stands for the first month when Chinese New Year occurs. On the Eight Trigrams (bagua), the three continuous bars also represent san yang.

The Qianlong Emperor appears to have been particularly fond of the motif of the three rams (or goats), since during his reign it was frequently represented in two- and three-dimesional form; see for example a painting of three rams in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, notably inscribed with the same imperial prose as found on the present piece, illustrated in Chinese Paintings in the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1981, p.315.