Page 178 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

157
A FINE PALE GREEN JADE CARVING OF THREE RAMS,
SANYANG
Qianlong
Deftly carved, the larger ram with its head turned to the side and
issuing from the mouth swirling clouds carrying the yin yang symbol,
the two smaller rams nestled beside, all with hoofed legs tucked under
their bodies, the pale green stone with some cloudy inclusions,
wood stand.
13cm (5 1/8in) wide (2).

£10,000 - 15,000 CNY92,000 - 140,000
HK$110,000 - 160,000

清乾隆 青白玉三羊開泰擺件

Provenance: an English private collection, assembled in Hong Kong
from 1967-1989, and thence by descent

來源：
英國私人收藏，於1967至1989年期間蒐於香港，並由後人保存迄今

The character for the 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 emergent, as detailed in the ancient Chinese classic of
prognostication, the Yijing, or Book of Changes.

Compare with a related jade three sheep group, with ying and yang
symbol, illustrated in Zheng Xinmiao, ed,, Compendium of Collections
in the Palace Museum: Jade, 9, Beijing, 2010, pl.143.

176 | BONHAMS