Page 110 - Marchant Ninety Jades For 90 Years

五 57. Seahorse, hai ma fu shu, its body and front legs partially carved with scales, carrying three scrolls on its back, tied with a long ribbon

十 held in its mouth, with detailed hairwork to its mane and tail, galloping above swirling and crested waves, the stone pale celadon tone

七 with natural russet markings.

5 inches, 12.8 cm long.
海 Qianlong, 1736-1795.
馬 Carved wood wave-form stand.
負

書 • Sold by John Sparks, London.

青 • Illustrated by Robert Kleiner in Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, no. 193, p. 244.
白 • Included by Christie’s New York in their exhibition of, Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, 13th- 26th March

玉 2001.
• Loaned to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in their exhibition of, Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman,

乾 August 2003 - December 2004.
隆 • Sold by Christie’s Hong Kong in their auction of Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone

Hartman, 28th November 2006, lot 1419, p. 174/5.

Alan and Simone Hartman • Sold by Marchant and included in their catalogue of Recent Acquisitions, 2009, no. 60, pp. 110/11.

• A similar group is illustrated by Jonathan Woolf, Angela McAteer & Colin Sheaf in The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, no. 118,

p. 236; another, from the Bei Lou Tong Collection, is illustrated by Sydney Fung & Yeung Chun-tong in Exquisite Jade Carving,

an exhibition presented by the University and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 1996, no. 103, p. 127; a further

example, from the collection of Jack Lowenthal, was included by Marchant in their 70th anniversary exhibition, Post-Archaic

Chinese Jades, 1995, no. 104, p. 72, and front cover.

• In Chinese mythology, the tortoise, qilin and phoenix are all related to the dragon, which was able to change into other

伉 animals. This seahorse, with scales on its body, is a manifestation related to a qilin and is probably the second stage of a qilin’s
儷
舊 transformation. It can be summoned for knowledge and wisdom, represented by the scrolls on its back.
藏 • A Chinese imperial porcelain doucai dish, Yongzheng mark and period, painted with a similar seahorse, was included by

Marchant in their catalogue of Recent Acquisitions, 2006, no. 45, pp. 84/5.

購
于
古
董
商

John Sparks

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