Page 36 - 2021 March 15th Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Bonhams NYC New York

PROPERTY OF AN ENGLISH LADY PROPERTY OF AN ENGLISH LADY
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A WHITE AND GREY JADE ‘DOUBLE PHOENIX’ GROUP A WHITE GREY AND BROWN-MOTTLED JADE ‘LION AND
18th Century CUB’ GROUP
The beige stone heavily-mottled in grey, black and even some pink Possibly 17th Century
inclusions to one side stone, extremely well carved as two crested Superbly detailed curly manes and entwined bushy tails, the underside
phoenix seated side by side and clutching the same leafy branch in also with clearly delineated legs and paws, the front legs of the cub set
their beaks, their wing and tail feathers with neatly-channeled grooves, on a ribboned ball between them.
the underside with well-delineated legs and feet; with a wood stand. 2 3/4in (7cm) wide
3 3/4in (9.5cm) across
$3,000 - 4,000
$2,500 - 4,000
灰白玉褐斑太獅少獅擺件
十八世紀 灰白玉雙鳳擺件
For another slightly larger mottled beige-toned jade carving of a lion
A pair of Phoenix flying or singing, fenghuang yufei may be understood and cub with a ribboned ball set between them and dated to the
as ‘May you have an harmonious marriage’, shuangfeng heming, Ming Dynasty (16th Century), see Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades
see Therese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, San from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996,
Francisco, 2008, p.54, no. 2.20.1. p. 66, no. 58. Another with similar markings to the stone is illustrated
by Thomas Fok, The Splendour of Jade, The Songzhutang Collection
According to legend, the appearence of the phoenix augers the of Jade, Hong Kong, 2011, pp. 106-107, no. 92.
emergence of an able ruler, for it appeared when Confucious was
born. It is also associated with the empress, often oramenting her
clothing and jewelery. It’s favorite perch is the Chinese parasol tree,
wutong, and it is perhaps the branch of this tree, that the pair of
phoenix lovingly support, in our image.

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