A BAMBOO FIGURE OF LIU HAI AND HIS THREE-LEGGED TOAD, 18TH CENTURY
Lot 392 - FAS1025

Expert’s note: The present figure is carved from the thick, underground rhizome neck of a bamboo plant — the swollen stem base from which new shoots emerge. Although technically not a root, such sculptures are traditionally referred to as “root carvings,” a long-standing but imprecise designation.

China. Boldly carved as a jovial, corpulent Liu Hai riding a massive three-legged toad with pronounced leonine features including fangs, mane, a ruyi-shaped snout, and short tail, its mouth slightly agape. The immortal dressed in a long cloth secured around the waist with a string terminating in a branch of peaches, his face with neatly carved features such as heavy-lidded eyes and bow-shaped lips opened in a hearty laugh, the elongated earlobes suspending circular earrings, his hair elegantly falling in finely incised strands along his back.

Provenance: London trade. Acquired from a private collection.
Condition: Overall good condition with expected wear, natural imperfections, few minor nicks, light surface scratches, minor losses and old repairs to the toad’s feet. The wood with a rich, naturally grown, dark patina.

Weight: 330 g
Dimensions: Height 17.8 cm

The story of Liu Hai is frequently told as ‘Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad’. However, there is a hidden meaning here: The Chinese word for ‘toad’ is chanchu. Sometimes, Chinese will only pronounce the first character chan. In some Chinese dialects, the character chan has a pronunciation very similar to qian which means ‘coin’. Therefore, a storyteller reciting ‘Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad’ could also be heard by listeners as ‘Liu Hai playing with the gold coins’.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related bamboo figure of Liu Hai riding his three-legged toad, dated to the late 18^th century, in the Denver Art Museum, accession number 1983.526A.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 June 2015, lot 2817
Price: HKD 175,000 or approx. EUR 23,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bamboo carving of Liu Hai, Qing dynasty, 18th century
Expert remark: This is another rare depiction of Liu Hai riding an animal, although here he sits atop a lion with his toad in his hand. Compare the manner of carving and fine patina. Note the size (8.8 cm)

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 April 2019, lot 3716
Estimate: HKD 70,000 or approx. EUR 8,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A carved bamboo ‘Liu Hai and Toad’ group, Qing dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and size (18.4 cm) as well as the related modeling and manner of carving.