18TH/19TH CENTURY

Details

A FINE WHITE JADE 'WEST CHAMBER' PENDANT
18TH/19TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form, carved in shallow relief on one side with a lady standing beside a pavilion and holding a chess board as she looks up at a man climbing over a wall, within a terraced setting with garden rock and pine trees, the reverse with a lengthy inscription followed by the signature, Zigang, and one seal reading wen wan, all beneath a border of confronted archaistic chilong, the pendant strung with coral bead and seed pearls
2¾ in. (7 cm.) long

Provenance

Nagatani Inc., Chicago, 1975.

Exhibited

Chinese Jade: The Image from Within, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, 1985 - 1986, no. 196.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

The inscription may be taken from book three, chapter three of the novel, Dream of the Western Chamber, by Wang Shifu, and may be translated as follows:
'The wind through the acacia trees stirs up the evening ravens.
This lover's hat of black gauze is askew.'
A white jade plaque, with the same inscription and a closely related scene, from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27 May 2009, lot 1967.

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