Beschreibung:

A VERY PALE GREEN JADE CARVING OF A DEER18th century The recumbent stag superbly carved with long prominent antlers reaching the elegantly curved back carved with a further auspicious bat, a spray of lingzhi fungus in its mouth, its legs neatly folded and tucked underneath above further lingzhi fungus, the stone of even pale green tone, wood stand. 11cm (4 3/8in) wide. (2).Footnotes十八世紀 青白玉雕瑞鹿 Provenance: A distinguished Asian private collection 來源： 亞洲顯赫私人收藏 The lingzhi fungus is symbolic of long life as is the deer (lu 鹿), which is not only associated with Shoulao, the God of Longevity, but a pun on 'emolument' (lu 禄). Compare with a related jade carving of a recumbent stag, 17th/18th century, illustrated in Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, p.81, no.56. Compare also with a related pale green jade deer, formerly in the Tuyet Nguyet Collection, illustrated by H.K.Hui and T.Y.Pang, Virtuous Treasures: Chinese Jades for the Scholar's Table, Hong Kong, 2008, pl.101. See a related white and russet jade carving of a deer, 18th century, which was sold at Bonhams London, 16 May 2019, lot 128. 玉質白中閃青，在扁長的玉料上作圓雕。瑞鹿回首俯臥，口銜靈芝，曲膝之上亦作芝草，尾部飾一隻蝙蝠，整體造型巧妙靈動。 「鹿」音同「祿」，寓意榮祿豐沛，同時鹿乃壽星之坐騎，因此古人認為鹿是祥瑞之物，而靈芝為延壽之草，加上蝙蝠代表福氣到來，三者結合展現出傳統的吉祥主題「福祿壽」。 可對比一件十七/十八世紀玉雕瑞鹿，現藏於美國西雅圖藝術博物館，見《Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum》，西雅圖，1989年，頁81，編號56。另可比較雪月藏青白玉雕瑞鹿，載於《閣有天珍：中國文房玉雕》，香港，2008年，圖版101。 參考一件十八世紀白玉帶皮仙鹿把件，售於倫敦邦瀚斯，2019年5月16日，編號128。