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Property from a Distinguished English Private Collection
英國顯赫私人收藏
英國顯赫私人收藏
Lot 18
A rare large pale green jade Buddhist lion and cub carving 18th century
4 June 2015, 10:30 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceHK$500,000 - HK$800,000
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A rare large pale green jade Buddhist lion and cub carving
18th century
The even-toned pale green stone skilfully carved as a recumbent Buddhist lion turning its head to the right, its large eyes framed by elegantly curling brows and the grinning mouth grasping the tassels of a large brocade ball balanced on its haunches, a playful cub lies on the lion's back resting its head on the ball, its thick tail in three tufts raised over its knobbed spine.
15.5cm (6 1/8in) wide
The even-toned pale green stone skilfully carved as a recumbent Buddhist lion turning its head to the right, its large eyes framed by elegantly curling brows and the grinning mouth grasping the tassels of a large brocade ball balanced on its haunches, a playful cub lies on the lion's back resting its head on the ball, its thick tail in three tufts raised over its knobbed spine.
15.5cm (6 1/8in) wide
Footnotes
十八世紀 青白玉雕太獅少獅擺件
Provenance 來源:
Purchased from Mademoiselle Logé, 3 Rue Bourdaloue, Paris, 1913
Roger Keverne Ltd., London, 16 June 2006, no.95
An English private collection
1913年購自位於巴黎3 rue Bourdaloue的Mademoiselle Logé
2006年6月16日購自倫敦古董商Roger Keverne Ltd.，編號95
英國私人收藏
Exhibited 展覽:
Musée Cernuschi, Jades et Pierres Dures de la Chine, March 1927
Musée Cernuschi, Les Fleurs et Oiseaux dans l'Art Chinoise, April 1929
Carved from a large pale green stone, the piece maximises the craftsman's possibilities for the high quality stone newly available in the 18th century from Khotan, resulting in an impressively weighty sculpture that still retains a purity and playfulness to captivate the viewer. Large jade animal carvings represent some of the finest jade products from the early Qing dynasty, leading to the heights of achievement associated with the reign of the Qianlong emperor. Animals including horses and elephants were popular; true also for mythical beasts such as the qilin or the Buddhist lions as in the present lot, with the latter group arguably being the rarest.
The depiction here of a parent and cub, amusingly toying with a brocade ball, evokes thoughts of family strength and longevity (particularly associated with the long ribbons tied to the ball). In addition, the image of a smaller and a larger Buddhist lion, dashi xiaoshi 大獅小獅, resembles and forms the pun taishi shaoshi 太師少師, which literally translates as 'May you and your descendant achieve high rank'.
Related jade carvings can be found in important museum and private collections. Compare a pale green and russet jade group of a Buddhist lion and two cubs playing with a brocade ball, Qing dynasty, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Shanghai, 2008, pl.161. Another slightly larger carving of a single lion, is illustrated by R.Keverne, ed., Jade, London, 1995, p.163, fig.90. See also a slightly larger white jade Buddhist lion and cub group, 18th century, illustrated in Virtuous Treasures: Chinese Jades for the Scholar's Table, Hong Kong, 2008, pl.104.
A rare and large pale green jade carving of a Buddhist lion, 18th century, from the Bernard Sunley collection, sold in our London rooms, 16 May 2013, lot 125.
動物題材在清代玉雕極為盛行，常見有馬、象、瑞獸如麒麟或佛獅，本玉雕為其中一例。「大獅小獅」取「獅」與「師」之同音，寓「太師少師」之意，象徵官祿代代相傳之意。
相關例子可參考《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：玉器（II）》，上海，2008年，圖版161；另一例子可見R.Keverne編，《Jade》，倫敦，1995年，頁163，圖90。再對比一件十八世紀例子，著錄於《閣有天珍: 中國文房玉雕》，香港，2008年，圖版104。Bernard Sunley舊藏有一件十八世紀的例子，拍賣於倫敦邦瀚斯，2013年5月16日，拍品125。