A FINELY CARVED PALE CELADON JADE DEER AND YOUNG GROUP

PROPERTY FROM THE DE AN TANG COLLECTION

Details

A FINELY CARVED PALE CELADON JADE DEER AND YOUNG GROUP
QING DYNASTY, 18TH/EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Finely carved modelled as a recumbent deer with long antlers and incised with stars on its coat, its head gently tilted upwards and turned to one side, grasping a long stem issuing leaves and a flower in its mouth, nuzzling beside its young, all supported on a rockwork base from which grows a spray of lingzhi fungus on the reverse side, the stone of even very pale celadon tone
7¼ in. (18.5 cm.) across, box

Literature

A Romance With Jade, From the De An Tang Collection, Hong Kong, 2004, no. 90

Exhibited

Yongshougong, The Palace Museum, Beijing, 30 November - 21 December 2004

Lot Essay

From ancient times jade has been associated with longevity and immortality. The image of the deer with lingzhi is an auspicious one that became popular in the Yuan and early Ming dynasties. The deer, itself an emblem of longevity, is said to be the only creature able to find the lingzhi, a fungus that is thought to prolong life.

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