Page 61 - Christie's London May 14, 2019 Important Chinese Jades

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A RARE WHITE JADE 'ZODIAC' PENDANT PLAQUE
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The plaque is carved in low relief with a zodiac fgure with the head of an ox
and a human body, wearing long robes and holding a fy whisk. The reverse is
carved with the character 'chou' (cyclical year) in seal script enclosed within a
shaped cartouche. The plaque is surmounted with a Buddhist swastika symbol
fanked by two catfsh to one side, lingzhi sprays to the reverse.
2¼ in. (5.8 cm.) long
£30,000-50,000 US$40,000-66,000
€35,000-58,000
PROVENANCE:
The Dizang Studio Collection, Taipei, acquired from a private Taiwanese
collection.
The Year of the Ox, represented by the Earthly Branch symbol chou, signifes
the second of the twelve-year cycle of animals in the Chinese zodiac. See (reverse)
a complete set of twelve jade carvings depicting all the zodiac fgures from
the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures
of the Palace Museum - Jadeware (III), vol. 42, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 111, pp.
132-133. These humanoid animals are celebrated as guardian fgures of their
representative year, and they each hold an auspicious attribute, with the ox
carrying the fy whisk as depicted on the current lot.

清乾隆 白玉生肖牛圖牌

來源: 地藏山房珍藏，台北, 購自台北私人舊藏

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