China, mid-19th to early 20th century. The graceful, slender figure wearing long robes carved and incised with floral sprays, clouds, leaves, and phoenixes, tied at the waist, and a long gilt sash. She is carrying a flower basket, holding a single flowerhead in her hand, and is richly adorned in elaborate beaded jewelry including a necklace, earrings, and a phoenix headdress. The underside of the base is neatly incised with tree branches.

Provenance: Piasa, Paris, 11th June 2010. A noted French private collection, acquired from the above.
Condition: Very good condition with some wear, particularly to gilt and pigments. Natural age cracks. Few small chips. Loss to underside of base.

Weight: 5,080 g
Dimensions: Height 53 cm

Expert’s note: Authentic Chinese ivory figures of such large size and with an age of at least 100-150 years have become exceedingly rare.

Lin Daiyu is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin’s classic 18th century Chinese novel “Dream of the Red Chamber”. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty, and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat prone to occasional melancholy. She was originally shown in illustrations of the novel as a young lady holding a branch of flower and wearing a shawl. The novel achieved huge popularity since the Qianlong Emperor’s reign, and it was published in numerous editions with illustrations by the most accomplished artists of the Qing dynasty, including Gai Qi. The image of Lin Daiyu thus became a very common figure in Chinese art.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related painted ivory figure of Lin Daiyu, described as a maiden, dated c. 1900, also with a flower basket and flowerhead in her hands and wearing a similar robe, but of slightly larger size (65.5 cm high), at Christie’s London in Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles on 13 May 2011, lot 1128, sold for GBP 15,000.

This item contains or is made from elephant ivory and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Please note that in compliance with EU regulation effective January 19th, 2022, all items carved from elephant ivory before 1947 must carry a legal trade permit issued by the Austrian ministry of trade, or any other appropriate authority within the European Union. For this reason, any sale of such item can only be concluded after such permit has been granted. All payments made prior to the issuance of the respective permit will be held in escrow until the application for the permit has been approved. Please note that according to EU regulation it may take up to 3 months until the permit has been granted. In case the permit is declined, or not granted after 3 months, the payment will be returned to the client immediately. 清末民初彩繪象牙雕林黛玉立像
中國，十九世紀中期至二十世紀初。林黛玉身姿婀娜，佩戴項圈，精美頭飾，著飄逸衣裙，飾以花卉、雲葉以及鳳凰紋，束金色長腰帶。 她提著一個花籃，手裡拿著一朵花。以身側雕刻的樹枝固定於底座上。

來源：巴黎Piasa藝廊，2010年6月11日；法國知名私人收藏，購於上述藝廊。
品相：狀況極好，有一些磨損，主要是鎏金和顏料。自然年齡裂縫。 幾個小開片。 底座底部缺損。

重量：5,080克
尺寸：高53 厘米

專家注釋：如此大尺寸且至少100-150年的中國象牙雕像已是極為罕見之物。

拍賣結果比較：一件約1900年的彩繪象牙雕林黛玉，同樣一手持花一手領著花籃，但尺寸稍大 (高65.5 厘米)，見倫敦佳士得Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles 2011年5月13日 lot 1128, 售價GBP 15,000。