Page 82 - Fine Chinese Ceramics Sept 2016

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

1278
A WELL-CARVED WHITE JADE TABLE SCREEN
18TH-19TH CENTURY
The thick screen is carved on one side with Shoulao, the God of Longevity, carrying a
gnarled staf and double gourd, accompanied by three boy attendants, one carrying a
branch of peaches, one a sprig of lingzhi fungus while leading a spotted deer, and the third
carrying a lidded pot. The scene is framed by pine and bamboo emerging from rocky clifs,
waterfalls and vaporous clouds. The back of the screen is uncarved.
Plaque 8¿ x 5Ω in. (20.7 x 14 cm.), wood stand
$80,000-120,000

PROVENANCE

Private collection, Palo Alto, California, acquired in the 1960s.
Sotheby’s New York, 19-20 March 2013, lot 280.
The imagery of the current screen contains numerous auspicious symbols and rebuses.
The central character, Shoulao, is one of the Three Star Gods of Daoism, and represents
longevity. The boys in the procession hold a peach and a ruyi scepter, two additional
longevity symbols. The children symbolize fertility and a wish for many sons, while the
deer (lu) is both a homophone for riches or oficial emolument and a symbol of longevity
and wealth.
清十八/十九世紀 青白玉壽老圖插屏

(another view)
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