A LARGE AND FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE 'ELEPHANT AND BOYS' GROUP, QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

A LARGE AND FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE 'ELEPHANT AND BOYS' GROUP
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The elephant is carved with its head turned to the proper left side, and its skin hanging in heavy folds. A bearded foreigner holding a floral spray and a ruyi scepter is standing by the left hind leg. There are two boys sitting on the back of the elephant, holding between them a large vase containing leafy fronds and fruit. Two attendants with long, curled hair are clambering up the sides of the elephant, one holding a stick, and the other holding a gnarled branch. The stone is of even, white tone.
7 ½ in. (19 cm.) high, hongmu stand

Provenance

C. T. Loo, by repute.
The Property of a Gentleman; Sotheby’s London, 28 October 1983, lot 170.
Spink & Son, Ltd., London, 1983.
The Irving Collection, New York, no. 424.

THE FLORENCE AND HERBERT IRVING COLLECTION