AN OLIVE-GREEN AND RUSSET JADE 'ELEPHANT AND BOYS' GROUP Ming Dynasty The recumbent pachyderm with the head turned to its right side and with sharply-curled trunk, resting contentedly as one young groom scrubs its left foreleg and another climbs across its back, the stone of olive-green tone with russet veins, wood stand. 8.3cm (3 1/2in) long. (2). Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 明 玉雕童子掃象 The subject matter of boys attending to an elephant represents multiple layers of meaning and auspiciousness. The phrase 'ride an elephant' (qi xiang 騎象), has a similar pronunciation as ji xiang (吉祥), meaning 'good fortune'. Furthermore, boys cleaning or 'washing the elephant' (sao xiang 掃象), forms a rebus for 'sweeping away the phenomena of the outside world', which are thought to be mere illusions. The pun is based on the fact that the pronunciation of 'elephant' and 'image' is the same in Chinese (xiang 象). Compare with a related carving of an elephant being groomed by two boys, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, Beijing, 2011, no.136. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com