A CELADON AND RUSSET JADE CARVING OF AN ELEPHANT, LATE MING TO MID-QING DYNASTY
China, 17th-18th century. Finely carved, the caparisoned pachyderm standing atop a cloud-form base turning its head sharply to the left. The elephant and saddle blanket are finely carved detailing the wrinkly texture of the skin and the ornately designed caparison, decorated with ruyi above rockwork. The pebble is pierced vertically through the center. The translucent stone is of a pale celadon tone with russet shadings and veins. Fine, smooth polish overall.


Provenance:
Dameron Ltd., June 1998. Collection of T. Eugene Worrell, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. 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 some old wear, signs of weathering, and small nibbles to the edges. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 69.9 g
Dimensions: Width 5 cm


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 12 May 2011, lot 13
Price: GBP 3,000 or approx.
EUR 5,600
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pale greyish-green jade ‘recumbent elephant pebble, 17th/18th century
Expert remark: Note the size (6 cm).




明朝末期清朝中期青玉留皮臥象

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。象背上披著一塊毯子，上面有江山麗水紋。青玉留皮，巧妙利用皮色，使大象更顯憨厚生動。


來源：
Dameron Ltd. 藝廊，1998年6月；T. Eugene Worrell收藏，購於上述藝廊，自此在同一家族傳承。Thomas ‘Gene’ Worrell（1919-2006年 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：
狀況極好，有一些磨損、風化跡象，邊緣有小磕損。玉石上有天然裂紋，有的可能發展成細小裂縫。

重量：69.9 克
尺寸：寬 5 厘米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦邦翰斯，2011年5月12日，lot 13
價格：GBP 3,000（相當於今日
EUR 5,600
）
描述：十七至十八世紀青灰玉留皮臥象
專家評論：請注意尺寸(6 厘米)。