Page 243 - September 23 to 24 Important Chinese Art Christie's NYC

PROPERTY FROM THE SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS, SOLD TO SUPPORT ART
ACQUISITIONS AND COLLECTIONS CARE
~956
A FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE BOULDER
18TH CENTURY
The boulder is carved on one side with a figure wearing a court
official's winter hat, seated beneath a prunus tree in a grotto beside
three rams (sanyang). The reverse is carved with a deer under a pine
tree below a bat in flight. The stone is of pale greenish-white tone.
7º in. (18.4 cm.) wide, wood stand

$70,000-90,000
PROVENANCE:
George Walter Vincent Smith (1832-1923), Springfield,
Massachusetts, acquired prior to 1910.
The current jade boulder and the jade tally half, lot 958, on exhibit in the George Walter
Vincent Smith Art Museum, circa 1896-1910.
The depiction of the three rams and a lone figure on the front
side of this boulder is somewhat unusual. Subjects such as 此件白玉山子及是次拍品958號單件白玉合符於1896-1910年前後在史喬沃美術館展覽。
a scholar with attendant, or a lone arhat in a grotto, are more
commonly seen. The ram is a symbol of filial piety, kindness and
patience. The three rams, sanyang, are also an auspicious motif,
related both to the sun and to male children, as they provide a
rebus for sanyang kaitai, the opening up of the new growth in
spring, referenced here by the prunus branch held by the figure
and the prunus tree under which he sits, which in turn symbolize
happiness and good fortune. The deer and pine tree on the
reverse tie in an additional theme of longevity.

斯普菲博物館珍藏，拍賣收益將用於藏品購藏及維護
清十八世紀 白玉雕三陽開泰山子
來源:
史喬沃先生（1832-1923），斯普林菲爾德，麻薩諸塞州，入藏於1910
年以前。