A LARGE WELL-CARVED WHITE JADE DUCK-FORM BOX AND COVER

QIANLONG

Details

A LARGE WELL-CARVED WHITE JADE DUCK-FORM BOX AND COVER
Qianlong
Well carved in two sections as a duck standing with head raised and beak open amidst a tangle of lotus stems rising from the base where they surround the feet to envelop the bird's sides with their bounty of blossoms, buds and leaves, the wing and head feathers precisely rendered in fine lines and the veins of the hollowed leaves also finely executed in raised lines, the upper body of the duck forming the cover, and the lower body and legs the box, the semi-translucent stone well polished and of very slight yellowish tone
13½in. (34.3cm.) long, wood stand

Lot Essay

Another large white jade box formed as a duck amidst lotus plants was sold Sotheby's, Hong Kong, May 19, 1987, from the T.Y. Chao Private and Family Trusts and a group of eight ducks, also in a tangle of water weed stems, was included in the O.C.S. exhibition, Chinese Jade throughout the Ages, London, 1975, Catalogue, no. 409. Both of these later pieces share the same fine quality and intricacy of carving