| OBJECT UNDER SPOTLIGHT | |
|
RARE AND FINELY CARVED YELLOW
AND RUSSET JADE ELEPHANT GROUP AND CARVED ZITAN WOOD STAND Qing Dynasty, 17th - 18th Century Length: 4 3/4 inches (12 cm) |
|
|
A finely fashioned elephant with folded, wrinkly skin kneels, its head in
profile, with three grooms attending to him. One groom, with a smiling
expression, kneeling near the head of the elephant strokes its ear and
holds a hooked staff in his other hand. A mustached groom with bushy
eyebrows clambers over the animal to pour a vase of water over the
elephant's hind leg. The third groom, wearing a peaked cap, holds the tail
in one hand while sweeping off the elephant's legs and hindquarters with a
long-handled brush. The entire piece of yellow jade with russet and deep
brown accents is beautifully worked in the round. The underside is
carefully carved, depicting the folded legs of the elephant and the feet of
two grooms. An original zitan wood stand, carved as a rocky outcropping
with ruyi sprigs and a small pine tree, supports the jade piece. Provenance: Private English Collection The subject matter of elephants and boys or grooms is a common one in the Qing Dynasty, although this piece of jade is very rare and the carving exquisite. Two examples of male figures and elephant groups dated to the Qing Dynasty are illustrated in Jadeware: The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, numbers 97 and 98. If you would like more information on this RARE AND FINELY CARVED YELLOW AND RUSSET JADE ELEPHANT GROUP AND CARVED ZITAN WOOD STAND please click here. |
|
| View our Object Under Spotlight for May, 2001. | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for March, 2001. | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for February, 2001. | |
| Object Under Spotlight for January, 2001. Sold | |
| View our Object Under Spotlight for December, 2000. | |
36 East 57th Street, Third Floor New York, New York 10022. (212) 319-1335