QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD (1735-1796)
LENGTH: 7.3CM
The crouching amphibian is worked with bumpy skin and large bulging
eyes, its muscular legs terminating in webbed feet, perched atop a
pair of succulent pomegranates borne on leafy branches. The stone is
of an even white tone suffused with russet patches.
A closely related example was included in the exhibition Chinese
Jade Animals 中國肖生玉雕, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996,
Catalogue No. 178. The depiction of a toad and pomegranates often
carry an auspicious rebus for “May you have an abundance of wealth
and descendants” ( 丁財兩旺 dingcai liangwang ).
PROVENANCE
Joseph Shapiro (1938-2005) and Bella Shapiro (1941-2011), England
| 清乾隆 白玉雕臥蟾 |
