清十八世紀 白玉「童子牧牛」

carved as recumbent beast with its head turned sharply to the left, its mighty horns curving back towards a powerful neck with its body leaning slightly to one side and the tail wrapped around the left haunch and legs neatly tucked beneath, with a rope knot tied through the nostrils, the rope held by a child clambering on its hindquarter with a straw hat trailing down his back, the translucent stone of an even white tone with faint russet inclusions and finished to a smooth polish

The group is overall in very good condition. The actual colour is quite close to the catalogue illustration.
"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."

此件玉雕，生動捕捉牧童竭力伸長身子，以抓取韁繩之姿。對比體碩然靜臥之水牛，牧童身軀，稚小卻靈動，反差強烈。玉匠巧手，雕琢出童子雀躍神情。一件相近之玉雕，曾經 Ronnie Greville 夫人、伊莉莎白皇后、Wallace 收藏，二度售於倫敦蘇富比，分別為2001年11月14日，編號44，及2011年4月8日，編號3210。另一作例，尺寸較大，曾展於《玉緣：德安堂藏玉展》，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號79。還有一件略小作例，2010年10月8日售於香港蘇富比，編號2800。有一件玉雕，稍大但構圖近似，也可作比較，2002年2月28日售於香港佳士得，編號616。另一件作例，則二度售於佳士得，首次於倫敦，2008年11月4日，編號7，後於香港，2010年5月31日，編號1893。

童子牧牛，象徵童趣與鄉野情緻，自宋始，甚為盛行。十一世紀以來，牧牛童子對於文人學仕而言，意味著遠離繁文縟節、冗多規範，追求簡單生活。詩人蘇軾、黃庭堅（1045-1105年）、與友人畫家李公麟（約1041-1106年），乃當中的先驅者。可參見李唐（約1050-1130年後）之《乳牛圖》，製於十一或十二世紀，現藏台北國立故宮博物院，著錄於 Ann Elizabeth Barrot Wicks 編，《Children in Chinese Art》，檀香山，2002年，頁54，圖2.6。