A fine and rare agate carving of a goat


Mid-Qing Dynasty Smoothly carved standing four-square, with almond-shaped eyes, the horns curling above the ears, wood stand. 6cm (2 3/8in) wide. (2).
|清中葉 瑪瑙羚羊擺件Provenance: an English private collection來源：英國私人收藏Following a resurgent Imperial interest in agate during the Yongzheng reign, small carvings of animals in agate, such as the present lot, or glass were probably designed as paperweights. Related glass paperweights in the form of a turtle and owl from the Imperial collection were refined objects for the study and can be seen in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Small Refined Articles of the Study, 2009, Shanghai, p.164, nos.147 and 148. An agate paperweight in the form of a toad, mid Qing dynasty, from the Imperial collection is also illustrated in Scholar's Paraphernalia: Classics of Forbidden City, Beijing, 2009, no.178.