China. Of rectangular form, decorated on top with two opposing kui dragons, centered by a pierced aperture for suspension, the plaque depicting a scene from the Romance of the Western Chamber, with a reclining lady, a courtier and an attendant in the back, a bird looking out the circular window, with bamboo and rockwork. The reverse incised with a poem and two seals. The translucent stone of an even white tone with scattered cloudy inclusions.

Inscriptions: To the reverse, inscribed ‘In the night, stillness in the morning mist, the flowers spraying their scent in the garden, the curtains do not move, the wind rests.’ Two seals.

Provenance: British trade.
Condition: Very good condition with minor old wear and traces of usage, minuscule nibbling here and there, some of which may be inherent to the carving.

Weight: 45.8 g
Dimensions: Size 6.2 x 3.9 cm

The Romance of the Western Chamber, written by Wang Shifu (1250-1300), was immensely popular among all levels of society. Woodblock illustrations in the many editions helped conventionalize images that were instantly recognizable to the general public, thus creating a corpus of motifs that was widely used by jade carvers, painters, silk embroiderers, lacquer workers, and other craftsmen.

Professor Herbert Giles, whose History of Chinese Literature was published in 1924, refers to The Xixiang Ji as the play “which will best repay reading”. It is the typical story where a handsome student and a beautiful girl attempt to cross the social divide, aided and incited by the girl's maid. The dialogue is punctuated with images of wind, snow, moonlight, and flowers, emphasizing both the passion and the romance felt by the struggling couple.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 13 September 2018, lot 969
Price: USD 68,750 or approx. EUR 95,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white jade shaped rectangular plaque, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, color of the jade, kui dragon decoration, figural scene, and incised poem to the reverse. Note the smaller size (4.8 cm).



十八世紀《西廂記》白玉牌
中國。長方體，上方雙龍紋，之間鏤空用以穿繩。一面描繪西廂記場景，可見庭院人物竹石。背面刻有一首詩。白玉色澤均勻，呈半透明，内有絮狀物。

題款: 夜深香靄散空庭，簾帓東風靜

來源：英國古玩交易。
品相：狀況非常好，有輕微磨損和使用痕跡，大面積輕微磕損，其中一些可能是雕刻所致。

重量：45.8 克
尺寸：6.2 x 3.9 厘米

王實甫（1250-1300）所著的《西廂記》廣為流傳。許多版本中的木版插圖有助於將圖像常規化，百姓可輕易識別，廣爲玉雕師、畫家、絲繡師、漆工和其他工匠使用。

1924 年出版了《中國文學史》的 Herbert Giles 教授將《西廂記》稱為“讀後感最好的文學著作”。這是一個典型的愛情故事，一個英俊的書生和一個美麗的閨中少女在婢女的幫助和煽動下試圖跨越社會鴻溝。對話中穿插著風花雪月更加突出強調了這對年輕人所感受到的激情和浪漫。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2018年9月13日，lot 969
價格：USD 68,750（相當於今日EUR 95,000）
描述：十八世紀白玉牌
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形、玉石顏色、龍紋、人物場景，以及一面雕刻有詩。請注意尺寸 (4.8 厘米)較小。

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