A spinach-green jade Buddha within a grotto, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Photo Sotheby's
carved as Buddha seated in dhyanasana on a double lotus pedestal in a niche framed with jagged rockwork, dressed in loose robes with sleeves draping over his bent knees, his expression serene with his eyes closed, flanked by long pendulous earlobes, his head covered in small curls, his hands held in dhyana mudra, the reverse with further jagged rockwork and a small pine tree, the stone of a deep spinach green tone mottled with light green and dark inclusions, wood stand; 22.8 cm., 9 in. Estimate 800,000 — 1,200,000 HKD
Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 2000, lot 699.
Note: The present piece is an example of the carver’s expertise in the medium, seen in the combination of a sensitively detailed face and the incorporation of the natural flaws of the stone to create a more naturalistic grotto-setting. A related carving was included in the exhibition Treasures from Snow Mountains. Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2001, cat. no. 38; and another was sold at Christie’s London, 11th May 2010, lot 152.
Jade carvings containing figures of luohan in caves are more commonly known; see one with a Qianlong mark and of the period, included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade. From the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 33; another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the museum’s exhibition The Refined Taste of the Emperor. Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei, 1997, cat. no. 43; and a third example sold in these rooms, 27th April 2003, lot 33.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong | 08 Apr 2014 - www.sothebys.com