A WHITE JADE 'WRESTLING BOYS' GROUP SONG DYNASTY |

whimsically depicting two boys grabbing onto each other's waist wrestling, each boy cloaked in a quilted vest and loose pants incised with asterisk, their oval faces carved with almond-shaped eyes, straight nose and a small mouth, the hair combed into a small tuft on the forehead, the translucent stone of an even white tone

Alvin Lo Oriental Art Ltd, New York

This finely conceived piece embodies the style of jade carving developed in the Song dynasty, as seen in the full rounded forms of the bodies and the simple rendering of the folds of their clothing. The craftsman has skilfully captured the playfulness of the subject through their interwoven poses and their joyful facial expressions. Compare a jade carving of two boys in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade, vol. 6, Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl. 280; two included in the exhibition Exquisite Jade Carving, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. nos 13 and 15, the first attributed to the Song and Jin period, from the Jin Yu Tang and Zhirouzhai collections, also sold in these rooms, 8th October 2008, lot 2302, and the second from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat collection; and another example from the collection of the Chang Shou Studio, sold in these rooms, 5th April 2017, lot 3315. See also a white jade 'wrestling twin boys' group, attributed to the Ming dynasty, sold in these rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3760.