18TH CENTURY

Details

A WHITE JADE CARVING OF TWO CRANES
18TH CENTURY
Well carved as two cranes standing on rockwork from which sprouts lingzhi and bamboo on one side, the large adult bird with a fruiting peach branch grasped in its beak while the younger bird grasps a lingzhi stem in its beak, with finely incised and detailed feathers on the wings and tails, the softly polished stone of pale greenish-white color with some dark grey inclusions
9¼ in. (23.5 cm.) high, wood stand, box

Provenance

T.B. Walker Collection.

Literature

Jades of the T.B. Walker Collection at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, pl. 74, no. 123.

Lot Essay

This auspicious carving symbolizes numberless wishes for a long life, as cranes, peaches and lingzhi fungus are all symbols of longevity. Here they are combined with bamboo, which is a symbol of integrity. A similarly carved white jade crane standing amidst rocks, bamboo and lingzhi while grasping a marigold sprig in its beak is illustrated by Terese Tse Bartholomew in Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, p. 179, no. 7.13.3.

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