A yellow and russet jade carving of a luduan, 17th-18th century
Lot 45. A yellow and russet jade carving of a luduan, 17th-18th century; 6.3cm (2 1/2in) wide. Estimate HK$ 500,000 - 600,000 (€57,000 - 68,000). Sold for HK$ 937,500 (€ 111,228). Photo Bonhams.
The recumbent mythical beast with paws tucked in and head turned right, detailed with bulging eyes, bushy eyebrows, a singular horn, and a ridged sinuous spine with a hairy tail swept to the right, the yellowish stone with toffee brown inclusions.
Note: Luduan are legendary beasts believed to be capable of detecting the truth, traveling great distances in short amounts of time, and fluent in all languages. Often mistaken for qilin which have hooved feet or bixie with pairs of horns and wings, luduan are defined by their rounder bodies and clawed paws. Due to their sense of justice and ability to distinguish good and evil, luduan are sometimes represented in scholarly jade carvings, such as the current lot, to symbolise the scholar's intelligence and wisdom. Small jade carvings of this type were therefore highly appropriate for the scholar's desks, where in addition to being palm-sized play things handled during contemplation, they could also serve as functional paperweights.
The rare yellow jade stone, highly prized for its colour, is accentuated by the careful carving of the mythical beast in the round. Furthermore, the carver has skilfully used the dark brown inclusions to elevate the contours of the creature's body, thereby imparting a naturalistic sense of liveliness.
Compare the carving of the present lot to two greyish-white jade carvings of a mythical beast, included in the exhibition Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. nos. 147 and 150.
Bonham's. THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION OF CHINESE JADES, 11:00 HKT, HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY