A white jade carving of a lady Immortal in a shell


17th/18th centuryThe shell with naturalistic ridges open to reveal a lady Immortal, wearing diaper-ground adorned robes with a billowing celestial scarf, holding aloft an open wicker box and cover surmounted by a pearl, the stone of white tone with chestnut and mottled inclusions, box. 6.1cm (2 3/8in) wide (2).
|十七/十八世紀 白玉雕貝形飛天佩Provenance: Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, 8 June 2011, lot 242 (part lot)Durwin Tang Collection來源：巴黎Drouot-Richelieu拍賣行，2011年6月8日，拍品編號242（之一）鄧德雍收藏Compare with a related jade carving of a boy with a billowing scarf on lingzhi fungus sprays, Ming dynasty, unearthed from Xilin Pagoda, Songjiang, Shanghai, illustrated in Shanghai Museum Ancient Chinese Jade Gallery, Shanghai, p.37. The unusual composition would seem to be inspired by Tang dynasty jade carvings of apsaras, which are often carved as flying female deities framed by billowing scarves; see two examples illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 5 Tang, Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Beijing, 2011, pp.35-37, nos.17-18.