A very rare white and russet jade 'boy and cat' brush rest


Song/Yuan DynastyFinely carved as a recumbent boy, lying in a relaxed posture with his legs crossed, wearing a tunic belted at his waist over trousers exquisitely adorned with a diaper-ground stopping short of his bare feet, his head raised looking up with a cheerful expression, caressing and holding onto a recumbent cat tucked between his arms, the stone of even white tone with russet inclusions cleverly utilised to denote the trousers, box. 7.5cm (2 15/16in) long (2).
|宋/元 白玉帶皮雕童子戲貓Provenance:Durwin Tang Collection來源：鄧德雍收藏The theme of boys playing with animals represents a traditional motif developed over a thousand years and favoured on account of the implied wish for the prosperity of male offspring and continuity of the family. In the present carving, cleverly carved to form a brush rest for the literati desk, the recumbent boy is holding a cat. The cat is a pun for 'age eighty to ninety', making this piece appropriate for a birthday gift.Compare with a related jade standing figure of a chubby boy holding a black cat, illustrated by A.Forsyth and B.McElney, Jades From China, Bath, 1994, pl.242; compare also with a related white jade 'boy and cat' group, attributed to the 18th century, from the Muwen Tang Collection, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1 December 2016, lot 15.童子和動物同時出現的題材，古來寓意子孫繁茂，家族興旺，而貓爹諧音「耄耋」，指代八十大壽，故此件拍品或為壽儀。以圓雕人物作筆擱，可謂匠心巧運。英國巴斯博物館藏有一件玉雕童子抱貓把件可資參考，見A. Forsyth和B. McElney著《Jades From China》，巴斯，1994年，圖版242；另可參考沐文堂舊藏一件十八世紀白玉雕祈壽耄耋把件，售於香港蘇富比，2016年12月1日，拍品15號。