A large carved jade boulder and stand Qing Dynasty, 18th century

the stone of light celadon tone with two main milky-grey inclusions running through the rock, elaborately carved to the front face with a mountain landscape containing three scholars conversing beneath twisted pine trees atop a rocky outcrop beside a mountain stream flowing down from a waterfall above, a pavilion and willow tree in the distance, with further vegetation scattered, the reverse smooth and plainly carved in low relief with careful consideration given to the natural layering of the stone, with the outline of jagged rocks and a further cascading waterfall subtly tucked behind a rock in the foreground; the rockwork stand similar in colour but with more browny-black mottling

The production of jade carvings reached a peak in China in the Qing dynasty.  Jade boulders depicting figures in naturalistic scenery, and carved in elaborate detail were particular popular among the literati and in the imperial courts. 

R. Kleiner dicusses the Chinese literati fascination with carved jade mountains in Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 160.  He suggests that the expansive landscapes were idyllic settings into which the scholar could retreat, without having to leave his study.  Compare this mountain with others of varying sizes, illustrated ibid., pls 122, 127-129.