A LARGE OPAQUE WHITE AND RUSSET JADE TOAD

Details

A LARGE OPAQUE WHITE AND RUSSET JADE TOAD
LATE MING/EARLY QING DYNASTY, 16TH/17TH CENTURY

The large flattened boulder carved as a three-legged toad clutching a fruiting pomegranate branch it its mouth, the leafy braches extending to either side of its wide body, its back covered in a regular pattern of raised spots, the curved spine highlighted by a band of slightly larger raised dots, the stone of an opaque creamy white tone suffused with orange brown markings
8¼ in. (21 cm.) wide

Literature

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 59

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003-December 2004

Lot Essay

Depictions of toads carrying pomegranates signify the wish for wealth and numerous sons. While the pomegranate symbolizes the wish for progeny, the three legged toad is the attribute of the god of wealth, Liuhai, also known as Liu Haichan. The Chinese names for pomegranate, shiliu, and toad, chan, combine to form a homophone for part of the name Liu Haichan.

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