AN EXCEPTIONAL, LARGE AND FINELY CARVED BAMBOO-ROOT FIGURE OF SHOULAO QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD |

the substantial root superbly carved with the God of Longevity depicted seated on a pierced rocky outcrop, his cheerful eyes semi-closed as curved slits, wearing a wide smile framed by long, neatly combed moustache and beard, the tall forehead and plump cheeks further defined by fine wrinkles, flanked by a pair of pendulous ears, his right hand grasping a gnarled sprig of lingzhi, the left holding a leafy branch of two peaches with the arm raised supporting a small boy clambering on his body, carved around his feet with five further boys at play on the rocky ledge, including a boy crouching behind his seat suspending a basket of flowers, another carrying a leafy branch of peaches on his back walking towards the third boy poaching a bat, an additional boy depicted climbing up the deity's body clutching a ribbon fastened around his waist, and the last grasping a sprig of lingzhi approaching two cranes, the bamboo attractively patinated to a chestnut-brown tone accentuated with darker mottling and subtle rows of circular knots and burls

This superb bamboo carving of Shoulao is of exceptional size and quality, notable for its meticulous carving, the sensitively rendered smiling face of Shoulao and the bold cuts used to depict the figure's clothing and rockwork are characteristic of the finest Kangxi period bamboo carvings. In the Qing dynasty the number of bamboo masters reached a peak in Jiading as well as in other centres in southern China, including Suzhou and Hangzhou in Jiangsu and Gui'an and Haining in Zhejiang province. While the majority of their products consisted of utilitarian vessels for the scholar's desk, a small number of bamboo figures, such as this piece, was made for display. Bamboo carvers of the Qing dynasty often took inspiration from religious and popular stories and woodblock-print books. This charming piece depicts the God of Longevity, Shoulao, as an old man with a long beard and a tall domed forehead, a portrayal that first developed in the Ming period and quickly became closely associated with the deity. One of the Three Star Gods (Sanxing), Shoulao represents the South Pole in Chinese astronomy and is associated with longevity and fecundity; hence he is often portrayed holding a lingzhi sceptre and a peach branch while surrounded by boys.

Comparable carvings of Shoulao include one sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th May 2008, lot 1887; and a larger figure, but with Shoulao seated astride a deer, flanked by two boys, sold in these rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3713. See also a smaller version of Shoulao with one boy, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Jiangxin yu xiangong Ming Qing diaoke zhan. Zhu mu guohe pian/ Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial Feasts. The carving of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Bamboo, Wood and Fruit Stones, Taipei, 1998, pl. 21.