CHINA, QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

This finely carved boulder is a superb example of the sensitivity of the eighteenth-century carvers in their use of the natural form of the stone to portray a literati-style landscape scene. During the Qianlong reign, the Emperor requested that jade mountains, as well as plaques and panels with scenes of mountainous landscapes, take their artistic influence from the work of famous painters. The personal interest of the Emperor, as well as the increased availability of large pieces of Khotan jade after the pacification of the area in 1759, prompted a proliferation of production of jade boulders of varying sizes exquisitely carved with delicate mountain scenes resembling literati landscape paintings.

Compare the present carving to a group of jade mountains carved with landscape motifs from the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Jadeware (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, nos. 72-74.