A MAGNIFICENT WHITE JADE ‘SPRING WATER’ PLAQUE, JIN TO YUAN DYNASTY China, 1115-1368. Of oval form, intricately carved in openwork and in layered relief to depict a goose in flight amidst long stems of lotus that rise from the rippling waves below, with blossoms and furled leaves, its long neck arched and beak clutching a leaf, all within a plain, rounded border. The translucent stone is of an even white tone with cloudy inclusions and very few dark speckles.

Provenance: Marchant Ltd., London. An English private collection, by repute acquired from the above circa 1997, according to the family of the collector.
Condition: Superb condition with minor old wear and few minuscule nicks here and there. Manually applied polish with a smooth, unctuous feel overall. Natural inclusions and fissures, inherent to the material.

Weight: 58.6 g
Dimensions: Length 8.4 cm

The motif of the present plaque originated from the annual ‘Spring Water’ goose hunt conducted by the Khitan in the Liao dynasty and the Jurchen in the Jin dynasty.

Literature comparison: Compare a closely related plaque illustrated by Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, p. 46, no. 43 (also sold at Christie’s Hong Kong on 28 November 2006, see Auction result comparison below). Compare a related plaque pierced with a flying goose and lotus, illustrated by Marchant, 85th Anniversary Exhibition of Chinese Jades from Tang to Qing, p. 51, no. 29, dated Yuan to early Ming. Compare also two related plaques dated to the Yuan dynasty, one illustrated by James C. Y. Watt, Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, no. 40, and another in the British Museum, illustrated by Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 335, fig. 1.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related white jade plaque with a similar depiction at Christie’s Hong Kong, in Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, 28 November 2006, lot 1445, sold for HKD 336,000.

金至元代“春水玉“白玉牌
中國，1115-1368年。橢圓形玉牌，精雕細琢，鏤空分層浮雕大雁穿枝，四周纏枝蓮花。大雁長頸拱起，喙抓著一片葉子。 半透明的玉石呈均勻的白色，帶有絮狀物，少量黑斑。

來源：倫敦Marchant Ltd. 藝廊。英國私人收藏，據藏家家族描述説約在1997年購於上述藝廊。
品相：狀況極佳，有輕微舊時磨損和一些微小的劃痕。手工拋光，整體光滑油潤。玉料固有的天然内沁和裂縫。

重量：58.6 克
尺寸：長 8.4 厘米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近白玉牌見香港佳士得Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman 2006年11月28日 lot 1445, 售價HKD 336,000。