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Lot 126
A fine white jade carving of three rams, sanyang 18th century
Amended
16 May 2019, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £21,312.50 inc. premium
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A fine white jade carving of three rams, sanyang
18th century
Deftly carved, the larger ram with its head turned to the side and swirling clouds carrying the celestial yin yang symbol issuing from the mouth, the two smaller rams nestled beside, all with hoofed legs tucked under their bodies, the pale white stone of even tone. 8cm (3 1/8in) long.
Deftly carved, the larger ram with its head turned to the side and swirling clouds carrying the celestial yin yang symbol issuing from the mouth, the two smaller rams nestled beside, all with hoofed legs tucked under their bodies, the pale white stone of even tone. 8cm (3 1/8in) long.
Footnotes
十八世紀 白玉三羊開泰把件
Provenance: Roger Keverne Ltd., London, 16 November 2000
Lowenthal Collection, no.58
來源：2000年11月16日，購於倫敦Roger Keverne Ltd.
Lowenthal藏品，编號58
The character for sheep or goat, yang (羊), appeared as early as the Han dynasty as a pun for xiang (祥) meaning auspicious or lucky. By the Qing period, the image of sheep had become heavily associated with yang (陽), another homophone but signifying the sun or warm, positive, masculine force in Chinese cosmology. In the present carving, the connection with this yang force is made apparent with the yin and yang symbol issuing from one of the rams.
The sheep imagery then developed into three sheep, san yang (三羊), which is a reference to the favourable arrival of spring, since the phrase sanyang kaitai (三陽開泰), points to the period between the winter solstice and the New Year. This was the period when the warm yang energy is emerging, as detailed in the ancient Chinese classic of prognostication, the Yijing, or Book of Changes.
Compare with a related jade three-sheep group, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum: Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p.108, no.88. Another related group but with yin and yang symbol, is illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, vol 9, Beijing, 2010, pl.143.
THE LOWENTHAL COLLECTION OF JADES
Hans 'Jack' Lowenthal was born in Frankfurt, Germany but at the age of five was brought to Britain with the rest of his family by his father in 1933. Although he briefly returned to Germany in 1934-1937 he thereafter permanently settled London. His father Julius Lowenthal founded the Smokers' and other accessories' business in Germany in 1921 but when he invented the most original semi-automatic lighter in 1928 he named it Colibri. Colibri gift lighters, pens, watches wallets became internationally well-known under the Colibri brand. In 1953, Hans Lowenthal joined Colibri and was the Managing Director for over 25 years. Lowenthal enjoyed designing and creating new products and he holds several important patents. Among the most important of his inventions was incorporating the Piezo-electric concept into a lighter, thereby creating a lighter that never needed a flint or battery, as the ignition spark was created manually. In 1967, he named the Colibri version 'Molectric' (molecular electricity). He also supervised Colibri when commisioned to design and manufacture the 'Golden Gun' and various Colibri products for the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.
Julius Lowenthal began collecting jades in the 1950s, and one of his first items included a jade axe (Lot 127). Jack inherited his father's interest in jade and stone carvings and continued to collect and regularly attended auctions. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Jack purchased jade carvings from several well-known dealers including Louis Joseph, Hugh Moss, Roger Keverne, Michael Gillingham, and Marchants. Jack was a particularly passionate collector of tactile jade carvings of animals.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the image in the website is correct, but is incorrect in the catalogue.