A rare pale celadon jade 'immortals' group, Qing dynasty, 18th century | 清十八世紀 青白玉雕仙人乘槎擺件

Property from the collection of Colonel Tom Hall
A rare pale celadon jade 'immortals' group
Qing dynasty, 18th century
wood stand

Length 30 cm, 11¾ in.
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Collection du Colonel Tom Hall (1928-2022)
Rare groupe aux immortels en jade céladon pâle, dynastie Qing, XVIIIe siècle
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Tom Hall上校 (1928-2022) 珍藏
清十八世紀 青白玉雕仙人乘槎擺件

Condition Report:
Good overall condition, with typical minor nibbling and bruising to the extremities. There are three small losses, one to the flying egret's beak, the two others to the tree branches on the opposite side of the latter egret, one to one of the top branches and the other to one of the bottom branches, as visible in the catalogue photos.

中文僅作參考。品相良好，僅見少許細磕及輕微撞痕。另有少許極輕微缺損，包括大白鹭嘴尖及樹幹邊沿，於圖錄可見。

Catalogue Note:
This exquisite jade carving consists of a combination of auspicious motifs representing long life depicting a scene of an immortal being rowed by two boys on a pine-tree raft that is sprouting branches, accompanied by a pair of deer, a pair of cranes and a basket of peaches. It may reference the birthday celebration of the Queen Mother of the West (Xi Wangmu), during which immortals bring gifts to her. There are many variations of this theme, featuring Daoist immortal Magu, Zhang Qian, and other immortal assemblies, all clearly conveying good wishes for longevity. This piece is rare for its exceptionally complex design and may have been a birthday present for an important elderly person or even the Emperor.

Compare a similar ‘raft with immortals’ piece from the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (acc. no. B69J4); another pale green jade immortals raft group, also paired with a zitan wood stand, from the Collection of Sir John Woolf, illustrated in The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, London, 2013, cat. no. 133; a smaller example of ‘Magu and figure group on raft’ from the collection of the Summer Palace (Yihe Yuan), is illustrated in Yubao qiulin, Qinggong jiucang yuqi/ Treasure of Imperial Jade, The Collection of the Qing Court Special Exhibition, Beijing, 2018, pl. 67; a smaller raft with an immortal and a crane, is illustrated in Tianjin Bowuguan cang yu/ Jade Wares Collected by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 205; see also a related example of simpler design sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29th May 2018, lot 34; another example of a ‘raft with two figures flanking a central flower-basket’, was sold at Christie's Paris, 15th December 2010, lot 101; see also a related example of a pale green-white jade raft group, sold at Christie's New York, 15th September 2011, lot 1035.

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本品玉質細膩瑩潤，結合寓意長壽的吉祥圖案，仙翁乘松槎渡海，意態從容，槎身生出枝椏，破浪而行，槎上有兩童子奮力划槳，並載有一對仙鹿、一對仙鶴和一籃仙桃。此祝壽題材源於群仙向西王母獻壽之說，獻壽人物組合眾多，可為麻姑、張騫，或其他仙道人物，皆寓延年長壽之意。本品構圖複雜，雕工精細，或為祝賀重要人物，甚至是皇帝誕辰之壽禮。

布倫戴奇舊藏一件仙人乘槎玉擺件，現存於舊金山亞洲藝術博物館（館藏編號B69J4）。另一仙人乘槎擺件為青玉質，亦配紫檀木座，出自伍夫爵士（Sir John Woolf）舊藏，圖載於《The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade》，倫敦，2013年，圖錄編號133。另比一麻姑乘槎玉擺件，尺寸較小，曾藏於北京頤和園，圖載於《御寶璆琳︰清宮舊藏玉器》，北京，2018年，圖版67；再比一例，刻仙人帶鶴乘槎，槎身較小，圖載於《天津博物館藏玉》，北京，2012年，圖版205。另見一相關例子，刻工較簡，售於香港邦瀚斯2018年5月29日，編號34；再比一例，刻兩人帶花籃泛槎，售於巴黎佳士得2010年12月15日，編號101；再比一例，青白玉質，售於紐約佳士得2011年9月15日，編號1035。

Provenance:
Spink & Son Ltd, London, 15th November 1968.

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倫敦斯賓克，1968年11月15日