清十八世紀 白玉擊鼓童子珮

the translucent white stone well worked in the form of a cherubic boy banging a large round drum with a drumstick held in his right hand, his left hand extended behind the drum and holding a long ruyi sprig extending to the top of the drum, a tasselled chime suspending from the ruyi sprig, above a small dog with a wagging tail behind the drum

香港蘇富比2010年4月8日，編號2011

《玲瓏玉雕—玉人、玉獸、玉飾》，香港大學美術博物館，香港，1996年，編號37
《中國玉雕》，香港藝術館，香港，1983年，編號179

《熙墀藏玉》，北京，2006年，頁192

Masterfully executed in the round from a flawless stone, the present piece is an excellent example of the high level of workmanship attained during the Qianlong period. Similar carvings of boys with drums include one from the E.T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2009, lot 1664; another from the collection of W.P. Cheung, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 175; a third carved with a boy climbing on a drum, sold in these rooms, 21st May 1987, lot 699; and a further example, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 19th January 1988, lot 585. See also a slightly larger jade group, carved with two boys beating a drum, sold in our New York rooms, 23rd September 1995, lot 226; and another sold at Christie’s New York, 24th March 2011, lot 1689. 

The motif of boys playing drums, popular throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, represents the wish for many sons.