Page 69 - Sotheby's New York Chinese Jade Auction September 13, 2018

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE GERARD ARNHOLD
958
A WHITE JADE ‘ELEPHANT AND BOY’ GROUP
QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)
The elephant is shown standing with head slightly turned to the right and trunk curled onto
the right foreleg towards a crouching boy holding a ruyi scepter, while another boy crouched
on the back of the elephant is holding a brush.
3¿ in. (8 cm.) wide
$6,000-8,000

PROVENANCE
The Gerard Arnhold (1918-2010) Collection, São Paolo.

This scene of washing the elephant is a popular motif. A jade carving depicting a similar scene
is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Jadeware (III), The Complete Collection of
Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 98. It is also depicted on a jade table
screen sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26 April 2004, lot 1225.

The elephant is an auspicious symbol which is associated with Buddhism and is used in
numerous rebuses to convey peace, prosperity and good fortune. In the present example, the
signifcance of the washing is translated into a wish for great happiness. The subject matter of
this group is also a lively depiction of an every day scene, and is very much in keeping with the
spirit of decoration found on porcelains of the same period.
清 白玉雕童子洗象擺件

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