Lot 190: A PALE GREEN AND RUSSET JADE 'DRAGON' BOULDER 18th century

A PALE GREEN AND RUSSET JADE 'DRAGON' BOULDER

18th century

Following the natural form of the pebble, finely carved in high relief with a dragon emerging from cresting waves to pursue a flaming pearl, a large full moon partially covered by passing clouds and misty mountains, the stone with natural russet mottling, wood stand.


4 7/8in (12.3cm) wide; 3 1/2in (8.9cm) high

十八世紀 青玉褐斑龍凌波濤擺飾



Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價




Provenance:

Property of a gentlemen, Sotheby's London, 6 November 1973, lot 305

Spink & Son Ltd., London, 23 December 1981

Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016) Irving, no. 378

Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015-present




Exhibited/Published:


An Exhibition of Fine Jade, Spink & Son Ltd., London, 9-22 December 1981, no. 19




來源：

紳士藏品，倫敦蘇富比，1973 年 11 月 6 日，拍品編號 305

倫敦 Spink & Son Ltd. 古董行，1981 年 12 月 23 日

佛羅倫斯 (1920-2018) 及赫伯特·歐雲 (1917-2016) 伉儷（Florence and Herbert Irving）舊藏，藏品編號 378

歐雲伉儷贈，2015 年

大都會藝術博物館，2015 年迄今




展覽/出版：


An Exhibition of Fine Jade，倫敦 Spink & Son Ltd. 古董行，1981 年 12 月 9-22 日，編號 19



Jade boulders with dragons, such as the present lot, are relatively rare. It may be depicting the legend of the carp that swims upstream and leaps over the dragon gate (
liyu yao longmen), thereby transforming itself into a dragon. This symbolized victory through perseverance and was popular especially among scholars wishing to pass the Imperial civil service examinations. See a related green jade boulder with a dragon above fish and water, Qing dynasty, illustrated in the
Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, 8, Beijing, 2011, p.138, no.103.

This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ¤