A FINE WHITE JADE PLAQUE, SIGNED ZIGANG QING DYNASTY, 17TH / 18TH CENTURY

deftly carved on one side with a figure of Sun Ce in full armour holding a halberd in his right hand, his face sharply turned to his right, the chain mail finely rendered, the reverse carved in low-relief with a long inscription in caoshu ('grass script'), followed by Zigang and one seal wenwan ('scholarly plaything'), all below a pair of archaistic addorsed dragons, the stone of even white translucent tone, pierced with a hole at the top and the bottom

Exquisite Jade Carving, The University Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 202A.

Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 261.

Hei-Chi, Jades from the Hei-Chi Collection, Beijing, 2006, p. 207.

The jade plaque is in overall good condition.
"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."

The flawless quality of the stone is enhanced by the refined and detailed modelling of Sun Ce, elder brother of the first ruler of the Wu state in the time of the Three Kingdoms (220-265). The poem and illustration for this plaque are taken from the book Wushuang pu (Famous and Unique Personages), a collection of images and poems of famous historical figures. First published during the Kangxi emperor's reign, this book was based on the work of the scholar Jin Guliang and immediately became a pattern book for designs of various kinds of works of art in the seventeenth century, including jade carving.

A closely related plaque, in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, is illustrated in James C.Y. Watt, Chinese Jades in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, pl. 59; and another, from the Bei Shan Tang collection, was included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1980, cat. no. 212; along with an unsigned example, cat. no. 211.

Lu Zigang was a celebrated carver in his native city of Suzhou during the second half of the sixteenth century to the extent that many of the finest jade carvings from the Suzhou workshops bore his 'signature' beyond his lifetime.