A WHITE JADE 'ELEPHANT AND BOYS' GROUP

18TH CENTURY

Details

A WHITE JADE 'ELEPHANT AND BOYS' GROUP
18th Century
The delicately cut and softly polished elephant semi-recumbent with three legs tucked under its body, the right foreleg pushing in a rising motion to the reverse, two boys amusingly placed on the back, one holding a washing cloth, the other pouring water from a vessel
3in. (9cm.) long

Sale room notice

The estimate for this lot is $5,500 - 7,500.

Lot Essay

The subject of boys washing white elephants is a Buddhist theme often depicted in Ming and Qing jade carvings.

Compare a very similar jade carving in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji; Gongyi Meishu Bian (The Great Treasury of Chinese Fine Arts; Arts and Crafts), Beijing, 1986, vol. 9, cover and p. 180, no. 309 and another included in the exhibition, Exquisite Jade Carvings: Figures, Animals, Ornaments, The University of Hong Kong, 6 December 1996 - 7 February 1996, Catalogue, p. 129, no. 105.