Page 54 - Bonhams May 16, 2019 London Asian Art

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A PALE GREEN AND RUSSET ‘BOYS The subject matter of boys tending to an A SUPERB VERY PALE GREEN JADE
WASHING THE ELEPHANT’ GROUP elephant forms many multiple layers of ‘DOUBLE GEESE’ PAPERWEIGHT
Qianlong meaning and auspiciousness. The phrase 18th century
Crisply carved as a wrinkled elephant standing ‘ride an elephant’ (qi xiang 騎象), has a similar Crisply carved as two flying geese with long
four-square in a whirling pool of water with pronunciation as ji xiang (吉祥), meaning slender necks, spreading their feathered
finely-incised eddy currents, its long trunk good fortune. Furthermore, boys cleaning or wings detailed with plumage, mutually holding
playing with the water, two boys with brushes ‘washing the elephant’ (sao xiang 掃象), forms a spray of waterweed in their beaks, the stone
sweeping the elephant, the stone with russet a rebus for ‘sweeping away the phenomena of an even pale-green tone.
patches, wood stand. of the outside world’, which are thought to 11.5cm (4 1/2in) wide.
7.5cm (3in) long. (2). be mere illusions. The pun is based on the
fact that the pronunciation of ‘elephant’ and £6,000 - 8,000
£12,000 - 15,000 ‘image’ is the same in Chinese (xiang 象). CNY53,000 - 70,000
CNY110,000 - 130,000 Compare with a related carving of an elephant
being groomed by two boys, illustrated in the
Compendium of Collections in the Palace 十八世紀 青白玉雕雙鵝紙鎮
清乾隆 青白玉帶皮童子掃象擺件 Museum: Jade, Beijing, 2011, no.136.
Provenance: a distinguished English
Provenance: a distinguished English private See also a related white jade carving of an private collection
collection elephant and boys, 18th century, which was
sold at Sotheby’s London, 10 May 2017, lot 4. 來源：英國顯貴私人收藏
來源：英國顯貴私人收藏

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