Page 169 - 2019 September 10th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art Jades, Met Museum Irving Collection NYC

93 A LARGE GRAY AND BLACK
‘DRAGON-CARP’ VASE
㶭 䀘 QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY
⋩ 湹 carved as a large horned dragon-Þ sh leaping amidst lingzhi- Ը๕
ℓġ 䌱 shaped swirls of water and a ‘Flaming Pearl’, the mouth agape to
İġ 晽 reveal a hollow body, with ß uttering fan-shaped Þ ns at the sides œŪŤũŢųťġœŰůŢŭťġŋŰũůġńŰűŦŭŢůťġĩIJĹĹĵĮIJĺĶĹĪġ㓞啷
⋩ 欂 and a spiny ridged dorsal Þ n, the face with a ruyi-shaped nose, ŔűŪůŬġħġŔŰů炻ΐ㔎炻IJĺĹij⸜ķ㚰Ĵ㖍
ḅ 漵 trailing whiskers, and fangs, a smaller carp swimming upwards ἃ伭ΐ㕗ġĩIJĺijıĮijıIJĹĪġ⍲崓ỗ䈡ġĩIJĺIJĸĮijıIJķĪɀ
ᶾ ⼊ by its side, the lustrous stone variegated smoky gray with 㫸暚ằ⃟㓞啷炻䶐嘇ĵıĴ
䲨ġġġ 剙 patches of charcoal-black, wood stand (2)
㍺

Length 9 in., 22.5 cm

PROVENANCE
Collection of Richard Ronald John Copeland (1884-1958).
Spink & Son, London, 3rd June 1982.
Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016)
Irving, no. 403.
Crisply and powerfully carved in the round, this dynamic vase
captures a moment of metamorphosis. According to legend,
Yellow River carp that reach the rapids at Longmen (Dragon
Gate) transform into dragons. This theme was a popular
pictorial subject as it implies wishes for success in the civil
examinations, transforming the pupil into a high o* cial. The
carver has advantageously used the natural coloring of the stone
to di% erentiate between the smaller black carp and the larger
gray dragon-Þ sh. Each detail is meticulously rendered, from the
scales to the Þ ne swirls of water.
Similar ‘carp’ vases include a white jade example sold at
Christie’s New York, 21st March 2013, lot 1393; a slightly larger
example, formerly in the collection of Alan and Simone Hartman,
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2006, lot 1425;
and a Qianlong period black and gray jade example, with Nezha
on the dragon-Þ sh’s Þ n, sold in these rooms, 2nd October,
1979, lot 225. Compare also a related green jade vase, carved in
slightly lower relief, sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2012,
lot 196; and a spinach-green jade example from the Thompson-
Schwab Collection, sold in our London rooms, 9th November
2016, lot 9.
$ 15,000-25,000

CHINESE ART FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: THE FLORENCE AND HERBERT IRVING GIFT 167