拍品 2035
  • 2035

A WHITE AND RUSSET JADE 'ELEPHANT AND BOY' PEBBLE CARVING QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

估價
1,500,000 - 1,800,000 HKD
招標截止

描述

well carved in the form of an elephant with elongated eyes and wrinkled skin, its head turned to the left, harnessed with elaborate trappings, draped at its mid-body with a carpet saddle, decorated on each side with the sun above rockwork and waves, the boy with loose-fitted clothes climbing on the elephant, clutching a long-handled axe, the stone pebble of a chalky-white tone with natural dark brown veins enhanced by russet inclusions

Condition

There is a 0.4 cm chip to one of the hind legs of the elephant along a natural vein. The overall condition is otherwise very good.
"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."

拍品資料及來源

A carving of a boy climbing on an elephant that also incorporates the russet skin, but modelled more in the round, was included in the exhibition Post-Archaic Chinese Jades from Private Collections, Marchant and Son Ltd., London, 2000 cat. no. 87, and sold in these rooms, 8th October 2010, lot 2617; another one but with the boy holding a crop, was sold in our New York rooms, 18th September 1996, lot 3; and another depicting an elephant surmounted by a boy holding a ruyi septre, from the Richard J. Robertson collection, was sold at Christie's New York, 28th March 1996, lot 1.

Compare also a carving of two figures and an elephant with head similarly turned inwards, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware III, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 97 ; another, also integrating the natural russet colourings, in the De An Tang collection, included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 89; and a third example sold at Christie's New York, 23rd March 1995, lot 207. A similarly carved figure of an elephant in the Guanfu collection, was included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1980, cat. no. 57.

The elephant is associated with the mythical Emperor Shun, one of the twenty-four paragons of filial piety, and is also the mount for the Buddhist Deity Samantabhadra. A boy climbing or riding an elephant symbolises the wish for good fortune.