Important Chinese Art including Imperial Jades from the De An Tang Collection
Important Chinese Art including Imperial Jades from the De An Tang Collection
Property from the De An Tang Collection 德安堂藏玉
A finely carved white jade 'elephant and boy' group Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白玉雕臥象童子
Auction Closed
October 13, 04:27 AM GMT
Estimate
1,200,000 - 1,800,000 HKD
Lot Details
Description
Property from the De An Tang Collection
A finely carved white jade 'elephant and boy' group
Qing dynasty, Qianlong period
德安堂藏玉
清乾隆 白玉雕臥象童子
skilfully worked to depict an elephant standing with the head turned to the left, as though looking at the boy kneeling and supporting a vase of lingzhi flowers with both hands at the elephant's hindlegs, the animal's body further rendered with characteristic folds of wrinkles and terminating in a long finely incised tail swept to the right, the stone of an even white colour with icy inclusions, wood stand
12.5 cm
A Romance with Jade: From the De An Tang Collection, Yongshougong, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 80.
《玉緣：德安堂藏玉》，永壽宮，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號80
This superb jade elephant is worked from white stone of exquisite quality, naturalistically rendered in the form of a recumbent elephant, turning its head towards the boy with a sprig of auspicious lingzhi fungus. To find such meticulous workmanship on such a fine quality piece of jade is extremely rare.
Representing physical and mental strength, elephant is associated with Buddhism. The Shakyamuni Buddha was born as an elephant in one of his previous incarnations and in Buddhist iconography, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra rides on a white elephant. The Qianlong Emperor was clearly aware of such representations. A court painting by Ding Guanpeng (fl. 1726-1770) depicts the Emperor as Samantabhadra, seated next to his elephant, which slightly turns its head to his rider while its wrinkled skin is being washed by caring attendants; see The All Complete Qianlong: The Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong, Taipei, 2013, cat. no. III-2.5.
See a jade elephant with boys in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 98.