A WHITE JADE 'BUFFALO AND BOY' GROUP CARVING QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

carved as recumbent beast with its head turned sharply to the left, its mighty horns curving back towards a powerful neck with its body leaning slightly to one side and the tail wrapped around the left haunch and legs neatly tucked beneath, with a rope knot tied through the nostrils, the rope held by a child clambering on its hindquarter with a straw hat trailing down his back, the translucent stone of an even white tone with faint russet inclusions and finished to a smooth polish

The group is overall in very good condition. The actual colour is quite close to the catalogue illustration.
"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 playfulness of this carving is captured through the pose of the boy who has been depicted with his head thrown back as he stretches to reach for the reins. Not only does his small striving body contrast with the large reclining body of the buffalo but it also provides the carver with the opportunity to capture the delight of the boy's expression. A related carving, from the Mrs. Ronnie Greville OBE, Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth, and Wallace collections, was sold in our London rooms, 14th November 2001, lot 44, and again these rooms, 8th April 2011, lot 3210; a larger example was included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 79; and a slightly smaller example was sold in these rooms, 8th October 2010, lot 2800. Compare also a larger but similarly carved example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th February 2002, lot 616; and another sold twice at Christie's, the first in London, 4th November 2008, lot 7, and again in Hong Kong, 31st May 2010, lot 1893.

Symbolic of childhood play and bucolic freedom, the buffalo and herd-boy motif was a popular subject from the Song period (960-1279). From the 11th century buffalo herd boys exemplified the simple life far away from ceremony, ritual and obligation for many scholars and officials. The poets Su Shi and Huang Tingjian (1045-1105) and their painter friend Li Gonglin (c. 1041-1106) are among those first associated with the genre. See a hanging scroll painted by Li Tang (c. 1050-after 1130), Herd Boy with Water Buffalo and Calf (11th or 12th century), in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Ann Elizabeth Barrott Wicks, ed., Children in Chinese Art, Honolulu, 2002, p. 54, fig. 2.6.