A RARE WHITE JADE 'BOY' GROUP QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY |

substantially depicted in the round as a boy playfully reclining on his right side atop a large beribboned double gourd, the cherubic figure portrayed cheerful and holding a ruyi sceptre in his right hand, further rendered dressed in loose robes cascading in voluminous folds, the stone of an even white colour with russet patches on the reverse

The double gourd, with its many seeds and trailing vines symbolising fertility, as well as a pronunciation close to that of ‘fortune and prosperity' (fulu), is an auspicious motif favoured by Ming and Qing emperors alike. Its iconography can be found on various media, among which jade has been perennially popular; see for example an inscribed white jade ‘boy, double gourd and bat’ group sold in these rooms, 5th October 2016, lot 71. For its medicinal and Daoist associations, it is also a characteristic attribute of Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals.