A beautifulandunusual paleceladon jade sculpture of a quail, dating to the Qing Dynasty, 19th century.
The stone of pale celadon colour with mottled russet tones.In this striking depiction, the bird is shown recumbent, as is common for Qing dynasty animal figures. The talonsare tucked underneath, whilsttheplumage and other motifsarefinely incised across the wings and back.In its mouth the quailholds a dragon by its tail, this smaller figure curls round in a serpentine fashion to reach up towards the beak.
Qing jades are characteristically of fine material and technically advanced workmanship.The quail (an chun), a symbol for peace, was a popular subject for carvings during the period, however it is generallymore common to find the bird shown carryingstalks of millet. As such, this wonderful piece, featuring aconfidently carved dragon, is an altogether far rarer scene.
Jade has always been the material most highly prized by the Chinese, above silver and gold. In 1887 the Secretary of theFrench Embassy in Peking (Beijing) used the word \'jade\' to represent a beautiful stone that the Chinese called yu玉. From ancient times, this extremely tough translucent stone has been worked into ornaments, ceremonial weapons and ritual objects.As an extremely hard stone, the expertise and precision required to carve jade is immense, yetrecent archaeological finds in many parts of China have revealed not only the antiquity of the skill of jade carving, but also the extraordinary levels of development it achieved at a very early date.
\'Soft, smooth and glossy, it appeared to them like benevolence; fine, compact and strong, like intelligence... When I think of a wise man, his merits appear to be like jade.\"
Confucius (551-479 B.C.)
This particularly rare and unusualartefact is a wonderful representation ofan artistic tradition as oldas theChinese civilization itself.
For an example of a celadon quail carved in similar style during the Qing Dynasty, please see this link.
Condition:The stone with sections of imperfections to each horn and to the tail, including pitted and rough inclusions; with a natural fissure through the dragon hanging from the beak; possible ground down nicks or chips, including one to the dragon\'s tail. Overall in good condition, an attractively coloured piece.
Length: 3inches.
Weight: 229 grams.
Provenance:
Ex. Sotheby\'s Arcade, 1980\'s. Original tag included.
Please note: This is a genuine, highly collectable and valuable Chinese Qing dynasty jade. This piece is offered for sale without reserve to promote our extensive inventory of antiquities and ancient coins.
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