A CARVED CELADON JADE BOX AND COVER IN THE FORM OF A RAM, QING DYNASTY
China, 18th - 19th century. Naturalistically carved, the recumbent ram with its legs tucked underneath, looking straight ahead with almond-shaped eyes, further detailed with grooved horns curving down the back of its neck towards its jaw, an accentuated back bone finishes at the tail which is slightly twisted to one side. The translucent stone of deep celadon tone with a faint yellow hue and cloudy inclusions as well as icy and russet veins.


Provenance:
Boston trade.

Condition:
Very good condition with minor wear and few minuscule nicks to the cover’s rim. The stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks, particularly around the right eye.

Weight: 348.3 g
Dimensions: Length 10.3 cm


Expert’s note
: It is remarkable to see how cleverly the lapidary integrated a circular russet vein running around the proper right eye, which has developed into a natural fissure over the centuries, to simulate a differently colored fur patch which is often found on real rams.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2018, lot 3143
Price: HKD 275,000 or approx.
EUR 36,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A carved yellow jade rabbit-form box and cover
Expert remark: Note the size (8.3 cm).




清代青玉臥羊形蓋盒

中國，十八至十九世紀。立體雕刻蓋盒，呈臥羊狀，大眼平視前方，有角，前後肢斂收於身下，背脊明顯。深青色半透明玉料，帶有淡淡的黃色絮狀物與赤褐色的紋理。


來源：
波士頓古玩貿易。

品相：
狀況極好，有輕微磨損，蓋子邊緣有一些微小的劃痕。具有天然裂隙的石頭，其中一些已發展成細小的細裂紋，尤其是在右眼周圍。

重量：348.3 克
尺寸：長10.3 釐米


專家注釋：
令人驚奇的是，寶石工匠巧妙地將右眼周圍的赤褐色圓形紋理融入雕刻中，該紋理在幾個世紀以來已發展成天然裂隙，如真羊身上的不同顏色的毛。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2018年5月30日，lot 3143
價格：HKD 275,000（相當於今日
EUR 36,000
）
描述：黃玉臥兔形蓋盒
專家評論：請注意尺寸(8.3 厘米)。