A MONUMENTAL AND RARE KHOTAN GREEN JADE WATER BUFFALO QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

carved from a massive boulder, the animal naturalistically depicted reclining with its legs tucked beneath the full rounded body and tail flicked to one side, the head turned to the left to face its hind quarters and its horns curled back to its spine, the stone of rich green colour, with some russet veining and opaque celadon mottling

A South African Private Collection, circa 1860.

The buffalo's right ear chipped off and missing (approximately 22mm by 26mm), otherwise in good general condition. Some surface wear, primarily to underside and crown of head, and some pitting or very shallow chips, primarily to the lower back. Yellowish veining and mottling to the stone, primarily to the top of the neck, across the lower back, the underside of the front right leg and to the tail, with other minor stone flaws.
"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."

A Monumental Jade Buffalo  

The reclining water buffalo is a classic icon of Chinese painting. Symbolic of strength and tranquillity, its bucolic aspect evokes the simple and freedom of life in the countryside and, as the reputed mount of the philosopher Laozi (b. 604 BC), has strong Daoist connotations. Animal sculptures which were created for pleasure, rather than for ritual or for burial, are extremely rare in any medium in China.

Jade figures such as the present piece are among the most impressive produced in China since prehistoric times. This buffalo is notable for its rich green stone and naturalistic rendering; its broad and handsome features to encapsulate its inner gentleness while the solid curves of the body, together with the dynamic natural inclusions that resemble thunder bolts, disclose its power.

Comparable figures carved from spinach-green jade are known from several fabled collections of the past, many of which are said to have come from the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) in Beijing, including the Pelham water buffalo, sold at Woolley and Wallis, Salisbury, 20^th May 2009, lot 388. Further examples from this group include two now in the Woolf Charitable Trust, the Jacob Goldschmidt buffalo, included in the exhibition Austellung Chinesischer Kunst, Gelleschaft fur Ostiasiatische Kunst and Preussische Akademie der Kunst, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 1085, and the Baron Lionel de Rothschild buffalo, formerly in the collection of Somerset de Chair, later in the Eckstein collection, sold twice in our London rooms, 19^th April 1937, lot 47, and 9^th December 1948, lot 111. See also the Oscar Raphael buffalo, from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, illustrated in James C.S. Lin, The Immortal Stone, Cambridge, 2009, pl. 36; the Alexander Ionides buffalo, later in the Hotchis collection, sold in our London rooms, 20^th May 1954, lot 101; and another from the Mrs James Cromwell collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 30^th November 1983, lot 275, and again, 19^th March 2008, lot 436, from the estate of Leona M. Helmsley.

Similar carvings fashioned from grey and black jade stones include one from the Somerset de Chair and the Mrs Parsons collections, sold twice in our London rooms, 18^th July 1952, lot 50, and again, 9^th June 2004, lot 151; the Lord Gladwyn buffalo, offered in our London rooms, 1^st November 1966, lot 47, and now in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 26:19; another, from the Bulgari and Richard J. Robertson collections, sold three times at auction, most recently in our London rooms, 4^th November 2009, lot 89; and a fourth example, from the Hall family collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8^th April 2010, lot 1909.