A very rare and large pale green and russet jade 'longevity' boulder


17th/18th centurySuperbly and meticulously carved in the form of a mountainous landscape in multiple layers of relief enclosing a standing deer and a recumbent doe on an inclined craggy rockwork surrounded by elaborate gnarled pine, wutong and willow trees, clusters of lingzhi and nandina sprays, and streaming waterfall, the reverse decorated with two cranes perching under pine trees in a similar setting beneath scrolling clouds, the stone of a pale green tone with the russet skin skilfully incorporated into the design of the boulder, wood stand and box. 17.8cm (7in) long (3).
|十七/十八世紀 青白玉帶皮雕「松鶴延年」圖山子Provenance:Christie's London, 10 December 1990, lot 215Spink & Son, Ltd., LondonAn important European private collectionChristie's New York, 15 September 2011, lot 1029An important Asian private collection來源：佳士得倫敦，1990年12月10日，拍品編號215倫敦Spink & Son有限公司歐洲重要私人舊藏佳士得紐約，2011年9月15日，拍品編號1029亞洲重要私人收藏The present boulder is superbly carved utilsing the contrasting tones of the pale green jade stone and the russet skin. It is imbued with auspicious wishes. Deer and crane together symbolise Spring as well as long life. Moreover, this boulder is carved with pine trees, lingzhi fungus and nandina sprays, which all have auspicious meanings of long life and prosperity. The themes of crane and pine on jade carvings possibly originate from the Jin and Yuan period so-called 'Autumn mountain' jade carvings which depicted these animals from Autumn hunting excursions. Compare with an 'autumn mountain' jade ornament, Jin/ Yuan dynasty, in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Jingtiange wuyuan cang yu jinghua zhan, Taipei, 2012, pl.6.5.5. A similar spinach green jade boulder with similar carving of a pair of deer, Qianlong, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 27 November 2018, lot 69. A related motif of cranes and deer on a pale green jade boulder, Qing dynasty, is illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, 6, Beijing, 2011, no.105. 青白玉質，帶黃皮巧雕，六面體，正面浮雕二鹿，牝立牡臥於山石，前後上下雕松樹等深林古木及林泉深澗，鹿身帶皮，頭露青白玉，可見巧思，背面浮雕二鶴琢靈芝於兩松樹下，松樹隨石形雕就，左右兩側則雕萬年青及孤松各一，松木、動物、山石之屬恰用皮色而為，而用刀深處見玉肉，有深濃淺淡之變化，層次豐富，令人觀之神往。鹿鶴同在一畫常有鶴鹿同春的寓意，此件所雕又有松樹、靈芝和萬年青三樣長壽草木，故又有松鶴延年的美意。松鶴題材或許源自金元時期的「秋山」玉，可比較台北故宮藏一件金至元「秋山」玉飾，見《敬天格物院藏玉器精華展》，台北，2012年，圖版6-5-5。此件林中雙鹿的紋樣和2018年11月27日香港邦瀚斯售出的一件清乾隆碧玉帶皮玉溪送別山子的雙鹿紋樣似乎出自同一粉本，拍品編號69。類似的紋樣還可參考一件清代青玉鶴鹿圖山子，藏於北京故宮，見《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇8》，北京，2011年，編號105。