Page 100 - Fine Chinese Works of Art Bonhams Hong Kong May 2018

The present lot demonstrates the exceptional craftsmanship and The incorporation of a vase and cover within the carved subject
creativity achieved in the jade ateliers during the celebrated Qianlong matter can be seen on a number of jade carvings from the Qing
reign. This is evident in the superb composition, openwork carving, Court Collection; for two such examples see a yellow jade carving of
individual detailing of each figure and the gnarled surface of the raft, all two vases and the three rams, Qianlong seal mark and period; and
further enhanced by the lustrous white jade. a spinach-green jade carving of dragon and phoenix and a vase,
Qing dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace
The carving of Immortals on a raft crossing the sea, is often depicted Museum: Jade 10 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2010, nos.30 and 44.
with the Eight Daoist Immortals, referring to their crossing of the
rough sea after attending the Peach Festival by the Queen Mother See a related pale green-white jade raft group, 18th century, carved
of the West, Xiwangmu. However, in this instance the master carver with Magu, which was sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September
reinterpreted the scene to show the Hehe Erxian, known as the Two 2011, lot 1035.
Immortals of Harmony and Unity, and Liuhai and the Three-Legged
Toad, both symbols of wealth and prosperity.

Compare a related white jade carving of a lady immortal on a raft,
Qianlong (15cm long), from the Yuanmingyuan, in the Musée National
du Château de Fontainbleau, illustrated by Tsao Huei-chung, Jade:
From Emperors to Art Deco, Paris, 2017, no.190.