A FINELY CARVED CELADON JADE MOUNTAIN QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the irregularly shaped boulder confidently carved in the round in high-relief, depicting a craggy mountain landscape lined with gnarled trees, the concave side with three figures donning bamboo hats on mule-back trailed by an attendant on foot, all carefully making their way up a steep paved pathway supported on stilts above a rushing waterfall, following another figure as he begins to climb the precipitous stairs leading to a fortified pavilion near the summit, the reverse and convex side with two conversing figures and another tending to two mules, all standing upon a bridge above cresting waves, the stone of even celadon tone with white and minor russet inclusions, carved wood fited stand

Carola Warburg Rothschild, New York.
J.J. Lally, New York.
The Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman.
Christie's Hong Kong, 27th November 2007, lot 1509.
S. Marchant & Son, London.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, December 2007.

Chinese Jades from the Hartman Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 23rd August 2003 - 3rd November 2004.

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 129.

The mountain is in very good overall condition. There is a small area of approx 0.5cm at the edge of the pathway which has been polished down.
"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 jade boulder, carved in the form of three-dimensional landscapes, was first seen during the Qianlong reign. According to Alfreda Murck in Evelyn S. Rawski and Jessica Rawson (editors), China. The Three Emperors, 1662-1795, London, 2005, the Qianlong era experienced increased fresh resources of jade 'as a result of the expansion of the Qing empire into central Asia and imports from border regions'. The boulders were carved at a workshop in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. (p. 463) 

Though carvings of this form typically depict Daoist or literati themes, it appears that the present example tells a secular narrative. The hats worn by most of the figures are not common on such works, where long-robed Immortals and scholars are more popular. A similarly shaped boulder, also with a secular theme, was sold in our New York rooms, 28th-29th September 1989, lot 474. For examples of jade boulders with traditional Daoist scenes, compare one illustrated in Roger Keverne (editor), Jade, London, 1995, figs. 34 and 145, pp. 40 and 187; a second sold in our New York rooms, 11th April 1986, lot 271; and another depicting 'The Ode to the Red Cliff' sold in our Toronto rooms, 1st April 1981, lot 423 and illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 127. An example attributed to the Kangxi period is illustrated in George F. Kunz (ed.), The Bishop Collection. Investigations and Studies in Jade, New York, 1906, vol. I, no. 449.

The ability to create visual depth, thus bringing the figures further into the landscape, was a skill mastered by Qianlong period jade carvers. Perhaps the most heralded of this genre is the extremely large example depicting 'The Nine Elders of Huichang' in The Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Rawski and Rawson (op.cit.), pl. 267. Inscribed with a Qianlong poem, with seals of the emperor, this majestic work embodies the apogee of jade mountain carvings. In fact, it was considered superior to ink painting, the original inspiration for this genre: in the inscription by the emperor, he notes that the permanence of stone trumps ink on paper. Another example, one of the largest and most elaborate boulders of this type, is the carving dated in accordance with 1784 in the T. B. Walker Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, illustrated in Robert D. Jacobsen, The Asian Galleries, Minneapolis, 1982, pp. 60-61.