Lot 38. A large grey and black jade mountain, 18th century; 22.5cm (8 7/8in) wide. Estimate HK$ 250,000-350,000. Sold for HK$ 1,660,000 (€ 197,217). Courtesy Bonhams.

Carefully worked as a double-sided mountainous landscape, one side with a traveling scholar and his attendant crossing a stone bridge on the left, the right with two elderly scholars admiring an overhanging wutong tree entangled in winding vines and stone steps leading towards a pavilion, the reverse featuring two deer beside a waterfall with another distant pavilion against a background of rocky outcrop and pine trees issuing from crags and crevices, the stone of a greyish tone with black and dark brown natural inclusions, wood stand.

Provenance: A European private collection

Note: Evocative mountainous landscape scenes carved with scholars, sages and symbolic animals, were much admired during the 18th century, providing the literati class with inspiration and a momentary escape to idealised pursuits taken between official posts or on retirement.

The present jade mountain is a testament to the exceptional skills of the jade craftsmanship in the 18th century. The masterful carving is demonstrated by the successful carving of the harmonious mountainous landscape unto the jade stone. Consider the naturalistic rendering of the creeping vines draped around the gnarled cypress, the three-dimensional figural carvings with their facial expressions finely detailed and the craggy overhanging cliffs and cascading waterfall.

See a related spinach-green jade boulder, Qianlong, of similar subject matter, from the Michael S.L. Liu collection, illustrated in Virtuous Treasures: Chinese Jades for the Scholar's Table, Hong Kong, 2008, pl.34. A pair of white jade circular screens, Qing dynasty, with similar subject matter, from the Qing Court collection, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Shanghai, 2008, pl.61. Compare a related pale greyish-green and russet jade mountain, 17th/18th century, sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2012, lot 1019.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 3 December 2015