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A PALE GREEN AND RUSSET JADE CARVING OF Exhibited and Published: S.K. Fung and C.T. Yeung, Exquisite Jade
ELEPHANT AND BOYS Carving: Figures, Animals, Ornaments, Hong Kong University Museum
17th century and Art Gallery, 6 December 1995 - 6 February 1996, p.129, no.105
The large beast exquisitely carved with wrinkly skin standing
foursquare with the head turned sharply to its right, with lotus-leaf- The subject matter of boys tending to an elephant forms many multiple
like ears and a long curling trunk, a small boy with jovial expression layers of meaning and auspiciousness. The phrase ‘ride an elephant’ (qi
clambering on its back grasping a broom, a second boy holding an xiang 騎象), has a similar pronunciation as ji xiang (吉祥), meaning ‘good
ankus beside the elephant’s hind leg, the stone of greenish-white fortune’. Furthermore, the boy atop the elephant is holding a broom and
tone with a slight purple streak and minor russet inclusions. is thus cleaning or washing the elephant, sao xiang (掃象). The message
7cm (2 6/8in) long. is contained in the pun based on the fact that the pronunciation of
‘elephant’ and ‘image’ is the same in Chinese (xiang 象) and illustrates
£8,000 - 12,000 the Buddhist concept of sweeping away the phenomena of the outside
CNY70,000 - 110,000 world, which are thought to be mere illusions.

十七世紀 青白玉帶皮雕童子洗象 Because of their auspiciousness, jade carvings of elephants were
popular at the Ming and Qing Courts. See two white jade carvings

Provenance: Roger Keverne Ltd., London, 2011 in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection
of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Beijing, 2008,
Lowenthal Collection, no.75
nos.137-138.
來源：2011年購於倫敦Roger Keverne Ltd.
Lowenthal藏品，编號75

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.