A WHITE AND RUSSET JADE 'TWIN-CATFISH' PENDANT, 17TH - 18TH CENTURY
A WHITE AND RUSSET JADE 'TWIN-CATFISH' PENDANT, 17TH - 18TH CENTURY
China. Well carved with subtle openwork depicting two catfish with broad heads and long whiskers, each grasping a lingzhi sprig in its mouth, one of which is pierced. Their heads and S-shaped bodies naturalistically detailed with broad gills, curling barbels and rounded tail fins. The reverse with a lotus leaf borne on a curved stem The stone of a pale grayish-white color with russet inclusions and veins cleverly utilized by the lapidary to accentuate the veins of the lotus leaf and the contours of the fish.
Provenance: From the private collection of Sture Larsson, thence by descent. Sture Larsson was a Swedish collector who began to collect in the early 1950s and became a notable member of the Swedish Oriental Ceramics Society.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, few tiny nicks, the stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time.
Weight: 61.6 g
Dimensions: Length 5.3 cm
The catfish was commonly used in Chinese iconography from the Song dynasty onwards, because its name, nian, is a homophone for the word for 'year', and also because it has a head shaped like a ruyi fungus. Thus, the visual pun of a cat-fish with lingzhi forms the auspicious greeting 'nian nian ruyi' ('may your wishes come true, year after year'), which is particularly apt as a New Year salutation. It also forms the rebus 'jixiang youyu', a wish for fortune and abundance. More commonly, paired fish also symbolize a successful marriage.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 8 May 2017, lot 147
Price: GBP 4,750 or approx. EUR 7,800 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white and russet jade catfish group, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modelling and similar sinuous carving of the fishes. Note the size (7 cm).
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A WHITE AND RUSSET JADE 'TWIN-CATFISH' PENDANT, 17TH - 18TH CENTURY
China. Well carved with subtle openwork depicting two catfish with broad heads and long whiskers, each grasping a lingzhi sprig in its mouth, one of which is pierced. Their heads and S-shaped bodies naturalistically detailed with broad gills, curling barbels and rounded tail fins. The reverse with a lotus leaf borne on a curved stem The stone of a pale grayish-white color with russet inclusions and veins cleverly utilized by the lapidary to accentuate the veins of the lotus leaf and the contours of the fish.
Provenance: From the private collection of Sture Larsson, thence by descent. Sture Larsson was a Swedish collector who began to collect in the early 1950s and became a notable member of the Swedish Oriental Ceramics Society.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, few tiny nicks, the stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time.
Weight: 61.6 g
Dimensions: Length 5.3 cm
The catfish was commonly used in Chinese iconography from the Song dynasty onwards, because its name, nian, is a homophone for the word for 'year', and also because it has a head shaped like a ruyi fungus. Thus, the visual pun of a cat-fish with lingzhi forms the auspicious greeting 'nian nian ruyi' ('may your wishes come true, year after year'), which is particularly apt as a New Year salutation. It also forms the rebus 'jixiang youyu', a wish for fortune and abundance. More commonly, paired fish also symbolize a successful marriage.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 8 May 2017, lot 147
Price: GBP 4,750 or approx. EUR 7,800 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white and russet jade catfish group, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modelling and similar sinuous carving of the fishes. Note the size (7 cm).
