18TH/19TH CENTURY

This very rare and unusually large hardwood carving of a mountain is related in style of carving to that seen on jade mountains or boulders and bamboo mountains of similar date and various sizes, where figures, especially scholars, are depicted amidst mountainous landscapes. As the present carving is wood, the carver had more freedom in creating the shape of the piece, as he did not have to restrict the design to the contained shape of a piece of jade or bamboo. The largest of these jade 'mountains' is the monumental carving known as The Great Yu Controls the Flood. Of 18th century date, it is 7 ft. 4 in. tall, and was based on a Song dynasty painting of the same name. Now in the Forbidden City, Beijing, it is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji - gongyi meishu bian, 9, Beijing, 1986, pp. 196-8, pls. 328-330.