A CELADON AND RUSSET JADE OF AN ELEPHANT LADEN WITH AUSPICIOUS FRUIT, LATE MING TO MID-QING DYNASTY
China, 17th-18th century. Well carved with the pachyderm turning its head sharply to the left and its tail flicking towards its right as the tassels of its caparison reach the ground. The elephant is finely detailed, emphasizing the wrinkly texture of its skin and paying close attention to the vessel filled with auspicious fruit, which is pierced through the center for suspension. The partly translucent stone is of a pale grayish-green tone with distinct russet and dark-gray shadings as well as cloudy inclusions and dark veins. Good polish.


Provenance:
Jade House, Hong Kong, 8 October 1996. Collection of T. Eugene Worrell, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. Thomas ‘Gene’ Worrell (1919-2006) was a newspaper owner and art collector based in Charlottesville, Virginia. During his youth, Worrell attended college, completing a degree at the George Washington School of Law, and worked for the FBI during World War II as a special agent. In 1949, he began a career as a newspaperman and, with his wife, founded The Virginia Tennessean in Bristol. This marked the beginning of Worrell Newspapers, Inc., which became one of the largest chains of small dailies in the United States. The office of the Worrell Investment Company was home to The Worrell Collection, where the present lot was exhibited until 2022. The only collection of its magnitude in the country, it included sculpture, paintings, and antique Chinese jades. Parts of the jade collection were published by John Ayers in ‘A Jade Menagerie: Creatures Real and Imaginary from the Worrell Collection’, London, 1993.

Condition:
Very good condition with some old wear, minor signs of weathering and erosion, and small nibbles to edges. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 71.5 g
Dimensions: Height 4.9 cm


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 23 March 2012, lot 1815
Price: USD 21,250 or approx.
EUR 26,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A small greenish-yellow and russet jade carving of an elephant, 17th century
Expert remark: Compare the related motif, color, and manner of carving. Note the near-identical size (5 cm).




明末至清朝中期青玉留皮臥象

中國，十七至十八世紀。雕刻精美，大象向右回首，呈半臥姿，長鼻翻捲，體態肥碩，雙耳如扇，四肢如柱，背上背著一筐水果，刻飾嫻熟流暢。穿孔，中心懸掛。青玉留皮，巧妙利用皮色，使大象更顯憨厚生動。局部半透明的玉石呈淡灰綠色調，具有赤褐色和深灰色陰影以及絮狀物和深色紋理。


來源：
香港Jade House藝廊，1996年10 月8日；T. Eugene Worrell收藏，購於上述藝廊，在同一家族傳承。Thomas ‘Gene’ Worrell（1919-2006年 年）是弗吉尼亞州夏洛茨維爾的一名報紙老闆和藝術品收藏家。 Worrell年輕時就讀大學，在喬治華盛頓法學院獲得學位，並在第二次世界大戰期間作為特工為聯邦調查局工作。1949 年，他開始了新聞記者的職業生涯，並與妻子在布里斯托爾創辦了《弗吉尼亞田納西報》。 這標誌著沃雷爾報業公司 (Worrell Newspapers，Inc.) 的誕生，該公司成為美國最大的小型日報連鎖店之一。 Worrell投資公司的辦公室是Worrell收藏的所在地，目前的拍品一直展出到2022年。這是該地區唯一的此類規模的收藏，其中包括雕塑、繪畫和中國古董玉器。 John Ayers 在《A Jade Menagerie: Creatures Real and Imaginary from the Worrell Collection》一書中出版了部分玉石藏品，倫敦，1993 年。

品相：
狀況極好，有一些磨損，輕微的風化和侵蝕跡象，邊緣有小磕損。玉石上有天然裂縫，有的可能發展成細小裂縫。

重量：71.5 克
尺寸：高4.9 厘米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2012年3月23日，lot 1815
價格：USD 21,250（相當於今日
EUR 26,000
）
描述：明末/清初青玉雕象馱如意把件
專家評論：比較相近主題、顏色和雕刻風格。請注意幾乎相同的尺寸(5 厘米)。