A CELADON AND RUSSET JADE 'QILIN AND CRANES' GROUP, 18TH CENTURY China. Carved as a recumbent qilin, the legs tucked underneath, its head turned backwards facing the trifurcated tail, the face finely incised with bulging eyes, horns and whiskers, a wisp of vapor emerging from the open mouth, and a small crane nestled to each side. The translucent stone of a celadon tone with russet patch and veining.

Provenance: Property from the collection of Drs. Edmund and Julie Lewis. Drs. Edmund Jean and Julia Breyer Lewis are renowned experts in nephrology who met professionally and later married in 1997, and have since continued to collect Japanese art together, actively seeking the best they could find from the finest dealers in the field. Known for their keen scholarship and high aesthetic standards, for the past three decades Ed and Julie have focused on collecting lacquer art, painting, and Buddhist sculpture from Japan. As they traveled widely their desire to collect Buddhist art grew, and they have expanded their collection to include important Pan-religious sculpture from Greater Asia.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and few minuscule nicks here and there, the zitan base with few tiny losses.

Weight: 563.8 g
Dimensions: Length 12.5 cm (excl. base), 14.5 cm (incl. base)

With a matching openwork zitan base from the same period, carved overall in the form of gnarled branches and rockwork with lingzhi. (2)

Expert's note: The lapidary who created the present piece has cleverly utilized the jade pebble to fashion a highly auspicious piece. While jade carvings of cranes or qilin alone are found frequently, group depictions of this subject, such as the present lot, are highly unusual and extremely rare. The superbly carved matching zitan base adds even further to the already impressive appearance of the jade.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's London, 10 May 2017, lot 286
Price: GBP 25,000 or approx. EUR 33,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white jade 'phoenix and qilin' carving, Qing dynasty, 18th century
Expert remark: Note the near-identical size (12 cm)


十八世紀青玉留皮麒麟仙鶴擺件
中國。圓雕臥麒麟，雙腿收於身下，威風凜凜的龍頭、一柱擎天的鹿角、有力強勁的馬蹄、搖擺自如的牛尾，兩邊依偎著一隻小鶴。青色半透明玉料，帶有赤褐色斑紋。

來源：Drs. Edmund 與Julie Lewis收藏。Drs. Edmund Jean 與 Julia Breyer Lewis是著名的腎臟學專家，他們在專業上相識，後來於 1997 年結婚，此後一起收藏日本藝術品，積極從該領域最優秀的經銷商那裡尋找最好的藝術品。Ed 和 Julie 以其敏銳的學識和高度審美標準而聞名。在過去的三十年裡，Ed 和 Julie 一直專注於從日本收集漆器、繪畫和佛教藝術造像。隨著他們旅行見聞的擴展，他們收集佛教藝術的願望越來越強烈，因此收藏範圍擴大到包括來自大亞洲的重要泛神論造像。
品相：品相極好，輕微磨損，很多微小的刻痕，紫檀底座輕微缺損。

重量：563.8 克
尺寸：長 12.5 厘米 (不含底座), 14.5 厘米 (含底座)

搭配同期的鏤空紫檀底座，圓雕石畔靈芝形式。

專家注釋：製作此擺件的玉匠巧妙地利用玉料雕刻出一件意義祥瑞作品。鶴或麒麟的玉雕雖多見，但像本拍品這樣的組合卻極極為罕見。精雕細琢的紫檀底座更增添了玉石已經令人印象深刻的外觀。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦蘇富比，2017年5月10日，lot 286
價格：GBP 25,000（相當於今日EUR 32,325）
描述：十八世紀清代白玉鳳凰麒麟擺件
專家評論：請注意幾乎相同的尺寸 (12 厘米)。