A GRAY AND RUSSET JADE FIGURE OF A RECUMBENT ELEPHANT, LATE MING TO MID-QING DYNASTY
China, 17th-18th century. Carved from a large pebble, the pachyderm lies with its front feet extending outward and its back feet tucked underneath, its tail flicks up towards its head which is turned sharply to the right. Masterfully carved, the elephant’s eyes, lashes, and brows are finely incised with the folds of its ears, its wrinkly skin, and its three-toed feet excellently detailed. The superbly polished and partly translucent stone is of a celadon tone with opaque cream and russet shadings, icy veins, and dark grayish-green clouds.


Provenance:
Spink & Son, London (according to the label). Property of an American Collector, acquired from the above. Sotheby’s New York, 24 March 1998, lot 383, offered at a low estimate of USD 10,000 or approx.
EUR 17,000
(converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Thomas ‘Gene’ Worrell (1919-2006) was a newspaper owner and art collector based in Charlottesville, Virginia. During his youth, Worrell attended college, completing a degree at the George Washington School of Law, and worked for the FBI during World War II as a special agent. In 1949, he began a career as a newspaperman and, with his wife, founded The Virginia Tennessean in Bristol. This marked the beginning of Worrell Newspapers, Inc., which became one of the largest chains of small dailies in the United States. The office of the Worrell Investment Company was home to The Worrell Collection, where the present lot was exhibited until 2022. The only collection of its magnitude in the country, it included sculpture, paintings, and antique Chinese jades. Parts of the jade collection were published by John Ayers in ‘A Jade Menagerie: Creatures Real and Imaginary from the Worrell Collection’, London, 1993.

Condition:
Very good condition with minor wear and few minuscule nibbles to edges. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 1,343 g
Dimensions: Length 14.6 cm


The elephant is an auspicious symbol
which is used in numerous rebuses to convey peace, prosperity, and good fortune. In Buddhism, elephants are regarded as one of the Seven Treasures and in a broader context are seen as symbols of strength, wisdom, and power.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s London, 14 May 2019, lot 131
Price: GBP 45,000 or approx.
EUR 68,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large pale grayish-green jade carving of an elephant, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the related motif and style of carving. Note the different pose and color as well as the larger size (22.8 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1171
Price: USD 75,000 or approx.
EUR 82,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A mottled gray, dark brown, and russet jade figure of an elephant, China, Ming dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related motif as well as the related color, manner of carving, and size (12.7 cm). Note the different pose, pronounced wrinkling, and mottling of the jade.




明末至清朝中期灰玉留皮臥象擺件


中國, 十七至十八世紀。呈山子形，大象向左回首，呈半臥姿，長鼻翻捲，體態肥碩，雙耳如扇，四肢如柱。青玉留皮，巧妙利用皮色，使大象更顯憨厚生動。


來源
：
倫敦Spink & Son藝廊 (根據標籤)；一位美國收藏家的財產，從上述人士處購得；紐約蘇富比，1998 年 3 月 24 日，拍品 383，最低估價為 10,000 美元或約17,000 歐元（根據撰寫本文時的通貨膨脹情況進行換算和調整）。 Thomas ‘Gene’ Worrell（1919-2006 年）是弗吉尼亞州夏洛茨維爾的一名報紙老闆和藝術品收藏家。 Worrell年輕時就讀大學，在喬治華盛頓法學院獲得學位，並在第二次世界大戰期間作為特工為聯邦調查局工作。 1949 年，他開始了新聞記者的職業生涯，並與妻子在布里斯托爾創辦了《弗吉尼亞田納西報》。 這標誌著沃雷爾報業公司 (Worrell Newspapers, Inc.) 的誕生，該公司成為美國最大的小型日報連鎖店之一。 Worrell投資公司的辦公室是Worrell收藏的所在地，目前的拍品一直展出到2022 年。這是該地區唯一的此類規模的收藏，其中包括雕塑、繪畫和中國古董玉器。 John Ayers 在《A Jade Menagerie: Creatures Real and Imaginary from the Worrell Collection》一書中出版了部分玉石藏品，倫敦，1993 年。

品相
：
狀況非常好，有輕微磨損，邊緣有一些微小的磕損。玉石上有天然裂縫，有的發展成細小裂縫。

重量：1,343 克
尺寸：長14.6 厘米


大象
是吉祥、和平、繁榮和好運的象徵。在佛教中，大象被視為七寳之一，是力量、智慧和權力的象徵。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦佳士得，2019年5月14日，lot 131
價格：GBP 45,000（相當於今日
EUR 68,500
）
描述：清十八世紀青白玉象
專家評論：比較相近的主題和雕刻風格。請注意的不同姿勢、玉石顏色和尺寸較大 (22.8 釐米)。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2019年3月21日，lot 1171
價格：USD 75,000（相當於今日
EUR 82,000
）
描述：明灰褐玉象
專家評論：比較非常相近的主題、相近的玉石顏色和尺寸 (12.7 釐米)。請注意不同的姿勢、玉石有明顯的皺紋、斑點。