A white and russet jade 'carp and toad' group


18th centuryNaturalistically carved in the form of a carp and a three-legged toad intertwined amidst large lotus leaves and conch shells, the fish portrayed with a plump body delicately detailed with fin and tail, the toad depicted with bumpy skin, the white stone highlighted with attractive russet patches, wood stand. 4.2cm (1 3/4in) long. (2).
|十八世紀 白玉雕金蟾鯉魚墜Provenance:An Italian private collection, purchased circa 1950-1970Christie's Paris, 13 June 2013, lot 144Marchant, LondonExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition: Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, no.42來源：意大利私人舊藏，購於約1950年至1970年間巴黎佳士得，2013年6月13日，拍品編號144倫敦Marchant展覽、出版及著錄：Marchant，《玉器九十，90週年特展》，倫敦，2015年，編號42A similar white jade 'carp and toad' group, 18th century, from the collection of Tuyet Nguyet is illustrated in Virtuous Treasures, Chinese Jades from the Scholar's Table, Hong Kong, 2007, p.190, no.114; see also a related white jade three-legged toad with two pomegranates, Qing dynasty, carved in a similar style, illustrated in Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong, 1997, no.178.白玉質，略微雜色，隨形雕鯉魚一隻，凸眼，淺浮雕背鰭，尾收胸腹，身形肥碩，雜色巧雕荷葉蓮枝，薄染黃皮，圓雕金蟾螺螄，金蟾立眉，四肢隨形攀附，動態十足。金蟾招財，魚諧音「餘」，螺螄繁殖力強，寄意多姿多孫，故本件有多重寓意，即招財進寶，年年有餘，多子多孫。類似題材玉雕，見一件清十八世紀白玉金蟾鯉魚，著錄於《閣有天珍：中國文房玉雕》，香港大學美術博物館，2007年，頁190，編號114；另見一例，著錄於《中國肖生玉雕》，香港，1997年，編號178。