A YELLOW AND RUSSET JADE ‘ELEPHANT AND BOYS’ GROUP, 18TH CENTURY China. Finely carved as an elephant with its head turned to one side, dressed with a tasseled saddlecloth draped across its back, supporting two boys, one holding up a flask. Two further boys beside the elephant are carrying a large and heavy baluster vase. The superbly polished, translucent stone is of a yellow tone with a slightly greenish tinge and distinct russet veins, which are more prominent to the back and rather faint to the front, as well as cloudy inclusions.

Provenance: British trade, by repute from an English private collection.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and few microscopic nicks. The stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 872.8 g
Dimensions: Length 16 cm

This carving is full of auspicious imagery, the motif of boys riding or climbing on an elephant representing the wish for good fortune, as the phrase ‘ride an elephant’ is close in pronunciation to ‘good fortune’ (jixiang).

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related pale celadon and russet jade carving, also dated to the 18^th century, at Christie’s Hong Kong in Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman Part II on 27 November 2007, lot 1562, sold for HKD 1,927,500 (note that this lot was sold 14 years ago and that therefore the sale result may not adequately reflect the current value of this lot).

十八世紀黃玉《太平有象》
中國。玉器以整塊籽玉雕琢而成，玉質溫潤飽滿。象作回首狀，厚實逼真；象背上兩個童子，其中一個手舉玉瓶；象尾處兩個童子，一起舉著一個碩大的玉瓶。四個童子表情逗趣天真；象背披氈毯，毯上飾江崖蝙蝠紋飾。雕工淺深有致。大象敦厚剛健，象徵智慧，四個童子活潑可愛，與大象之沉實穩重成鮮明對比。淺雕紋飾，更顯玉之細潤，場景溫馨可人。

來源：英國古玩市場，據説來自英國私人收藏。
品相：狀況極佳，磨損輕微，細微劃痕。具有天然裂紋的玉料，隨著時間的推移，其中一些已經發展成細小的裂紋。

重量：872.8 克
尺寸：長16 釐米

此主題取材於民間故事，象為瑞獸，代表溫馴祥和，象背馱負一寶瓶寓意太平，象徵盛世安寧與和平，也寓意連年豐收。

拍賣結果比較：比較一件十八世紀青白留皮玉造像，見香港佳士得Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman Part II 2007年11月27日 lot 1562, 售價HKD 1,927,500 (請注意，該拍品於 14 年前售出，因此銷售結果可能無法充分反映該拍品的當前價值)。