Page 76 - Sothebys Speelman Gems of Chinese Art

3415

AN EXCEPTIONAL, LARGE 清康熙 竹根雕壽老童子
AND FINELY CARVED

BAMBOO-ROOT FIGURE OF
SHOULAO

QING DYNASTY, KANGXI
PERIOD

the substantial root superbly carved with the God of Longevity
depicted seated on a pierced rocky outcrop, his cheerful eyes
semi-closed as curved slits, wearing a wide smile framed by
long, neatly combed moustache and beard, the tall forehead
and plump cheeks further defined by fine wrinkles, flanked
by a pair of pendulous ears, his right hand grasping a gnarled
sprig of lingzhi, the left holding a leafy branch of two peaches
with the arm raised supporting a small boy clambering on
his body, carved around his feet with five further boys at
play on the rocky ledge, including a boy crouching behind his
seat suspending a basket of flowers, another carrying a leafy
branch of peaches on his back walking towards the third boy
poaching a bat, an additional boy depicted climbing up the
deity’s body clutching a ribbon fastened around his waist, and
the last grasping a sprig of lingzhi approaching two cranes,
the bamboo attractively patinated to a chestnut-brown tone
accentuated with darker mottling and subtle rows of circular
knots and burls
23.5 cm, 9¼ in.

HK$ 1,200,000-1,800,000
US$ 154,000-231,000

74 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比