A WHITE JADE ‘ELEPHANT AND BOYS’ GROUP, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
Lot 185 - HS0625

China. Finely carved as a caparisoned elephant standing foursquare with the head turned to the right, with a long curled trunk between a pair of curved sharp tusks. The back of the animal covered with a tasseled saddle rug neatly detailed with scroll designs, surmounted by two boys, one holding a box and the other a branch, scrubbing the above a clambering bat and a third attendant holding a rattle and trying to climb up from behind. The translucent stone of a white hue with icy inclusions. Fine, unctuous polish overall.

Provenance: A private collection in Hungary.
Condition: Excellent condition with only minor wear and natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 308.8 g
Dimensions: Height 5.1 cm, Length 9.3 cm

The subject matter of a boy tending to an elephant carries multiple layers of meaning and auspicious symbolism in traditional Chinese art and culture. The expression ‘ride an elephant’ (qi xiang 騎象) has a similar pronunciation as ji xiang 吉祥, which means ‘good fortune’. Additionally, depictions of boys cleaning or ‘washing the elephant’ (sao xiang 掃象) serve as a visual pun symbolizing the act of ‘sweeping away the phenomena of the outside world’. This interpretation arises from the fact that word xiang 象 can signify both ‘elephant’ and ‘image’, reinforcing the metaphorical association between worldly appearances and illusion.

Literature comparison:
The scene of washing the elephant is well known and can be found on a jade group in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jade ware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl.98; and on a jade boulder in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch’ing Court, Taipei, 1997, p. 44.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 6 November 2018, lot 229
Price: GBP 32,500 or approx. EUR 54,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing)
Description: A white jade ‘elephant and attendants’ group, Qianlong period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, stone, subject, and size (9.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 15 May 2013, lot 198
Price: GBP 25,000 or approx. EUR 47,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing)
Description: A white jade ‘boy and elephant’ group, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, and subject. Note the size (15.5 cm).