Page 441 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

3760

PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 明 白玉雕摔跤童子

A WHITE JADE ‘WRESTLING TWIN
BOYS’ GROUP
MING DYNASTY

modelled with one boy squatting and supporting
the other with both arms, the latter portrayed
with outstretched arms and legs wrapping around
the former, each boy depicted clad in loose robes
with voluminous folds, the head rendered lifted
upwards and picked out with a joyful expression,
the stone of a pale celadon-white colour
highlighted with russet streaks
4.4 cm, 1¾ in.

HK$ 600,000-900,000
US$ 77,000-116,000

This charming piece embodies the style of
jade carving developed from the Song and Jin
periods, 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.

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 439