AN IMPERIALLY INSCRIBED RUSSET JADE PEBBLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the rounded triangular beige coloured stone with russet patches, finely incised with a flowering plant with lush leaves, the reverse inscribed in lishu ('clerical script) with an imperial poem by the Qianlong emperor, signed yuti with one seal chaoyu ('good jade')

Hei-Chi, Jades from the Hei-Chi Collection, Beijing, 2006, p. 209.

The overall condition is very good. The stone has an attractive patina.
"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."

In the eighteenth century the love for jade pebbles was such that many of them were left in their natural state or polished until the white jade showed through the outermost layer and engraved with simple and elegant designs and inscriptions. Although the poems add a level of meaning to them as works of art, it was the simple natural beauty of the pebbles that first inspired the poems.

Compare a related pebble, carved with a landscape scene in low relief on one side and inscribed on the other, in the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 172. A set of four pebbles with varying degrees of russet-brown markings, undecorated but for kaishu inscriptions on one side, was included in the exhibition Jades from China, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, 1994, cat. no. 345; and another, from the B.S. McElney collection was in included in the exhibition Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 277.