A RARE PAIR OF CELADON AND RUSSET JADE INTERLOCKING RINGS MING DYNASTY |

each ring of circular section incised with a ground of swirling qi and carved in high relief with either four or five prowling chilong, the dragons' sinuous limbs and bifurcated tails sweeping around the sides, their backs occasionally dipping beneath the surface and the head and forelimbs emerging at another point along the ring, the cadence of the rise and fall of the twisting bodies imbuing the rings with dynamism and movement, the stone a translucent pale celadon with a few fine russet veins and patches, Lucite stand (2)

Spink & Son, London, 31st October 1984.
Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016) Irving, no. 260.

Roger Keverne, ed., Jade, London, 1995, p. 140, fig. 30.

The rings have a few chips to the high relief which have been infilled, and there are scattered minute nicks.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Jade 'handling pieces' in the form of interlocking rings are extremely rare, and the present set represents an early example of the type. The extraordinary skill in the carving, together with the quality of the stone, and the amount of jade that would have been reduced and discarded in the production of this set of rings all indicate the lavish circumstances under which they were produced. In addition to being sumptuous and novel, the present set appeals to lofty antiquarian sensibilities by incorporating Han dynasty-style chilong in high relief crawling across the surface. The interlocking rings would have thus conveyed the extreme wealth and refinement of its owner. Compare a white jade pair of interlocking dragon-form rings, attributed to the Ming dynasty, sold at Christie's London, 13th June 1990, lot 485; a Qing dynasty pair of white jade interlocking rings carved with dragons in low relief, from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 18th March 2009, lot 397; and a Qing dynasty pale celadon jade set of four interlocking rings carved in low relief with dragons amidst clouds, in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, published in Chen Shen and Gu Fang, Haiwai bowuguan cang yuqi tuji zhi yi: Jianada Huangjia Andalüe bowuguan cang Zhongguo gudai yuqi / Chinese Jade Collections from Museums Outside China, No. 1: Ancient Chinese Jades from the Royal Ontario Museum, Beijing, 2016, pl. 199. See also a pair of Qianlong period interlocking rings carved with Liangzhu-style motifs and inscribed with couplets in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and another in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, both published in James C. S. Lin, The Immortal Stone: Chinese Jades from the Neolithic Period to the Twentieth Century, London, 2009, fig. 24 and cat. no. 86, respectively.