A white and russet jade pebble-form 'deer' weight, 17th / 18th century

Collection of Diana Klein.

Marchant, London, 2nd October 2000.

Collection of Mr. O.J.R. Allen.

Post-Archaic Chinese Jades from Private Collections, Marchant, London, 2000, cat. no. 85.

Chinese Jades from the Mr. O.J.R. Allen Collection, Marchant, London, 2013, cat. no. 17.

The deer, lu, is associated with longevity and aspirations of high rank (lu) and is said to be the only animal able to find the sacred lingzhi fungus. The lotus is a symbol of fecundity, purity and annual renewal, arising from the muddy waters but remaining pure and bright. 

Compare a related scene of deer and young with a lingzhi branch, of similar date, illustrated in The Collection of Jades in the Tianjin City Art

Museum, Tianjin, 2012, pl. 214; and another group of deer and young included in Jade Blossom. Imperial Xiuneisi Jade Objects and Ancient Jade Gems Collected by the Xu’s of Cixi, Zhejiang, The Zhejiang Provincial Museum, 2010, pp 72-3.