AN EXQUISITE CELADON JADE 'MANDARIN DUCKS' GROUP

Sale 2388

Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman Part II

Hong Kong

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27 November 2007

Browse Sale

Lot 1566

AN EXQUISITE CELADON JADE 'MANDARIN DUCKS' GROUP

Price realised

HKD 367,500

Estimate

HKD 250,000 - HKD 300,000

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AN EXQUISITE CELADON JADE 'MANDARIN DUCKS' GROUP
MING DYNASTY, 16TH/17TH CENTURY

Finely carved in the round to depict a pair of confronted mandarin ducks, their heads facing opposite directions with necks affectionately entwined, one with a long stem issuing a lotus flower grasped in its beak whilst the other with a spray of lotus leaves, their wings incised to detail plumage, the sides of the bodies are further detailed with lingzhi fungus, the stone of an even celadon tone, suffused with russet inclusions highlighting the overall design
4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.), stand

Provenance

Mrs. Betty Schmitt, Miami, Florida
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Literature and exhibited

Literature

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 61

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 13-26 March 2001
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003 - December 2004
Jade as Sculpture, Minneapolis, Minneapolis and Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1975, no. 8

Lot Essay

The present carving has retained the natural shape of the original jade pebble. The craftsman has skilfully utilised the stone so as to provide a sense of naturalistic interaction between the pair of ducks. Mandarin ducks (Latin: Aix galericulata), known as Yuan Yang in Chinese, mate for life and are renowned for their attachment to each other, and in Chinese art mandarin ducks have been prolifically adopted to symbolise conjugal bliss and fidelity.
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Lot 1566

AN EXQUISITE CELADON JADE 'MANDARIN DUCKS' GROUP

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