A jade 'Boy and Elephant' group carving, Ming dynasty. Photo:Sotheby's.

carved as an elephant standing foursquare with its head turned towards its left, its wrinkled skin, curved tusks and hairy tail naturalistically depicted, set with a boy sitting astride it while holding a treasure vase (bao ping) in both hands, his right elbow resting on his bent right knee with his head turned over his left shoulder, the stone of an opaque milky-white tone mottled with icy inclusions and dark streaks; 7.8 cm., 3 in. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD 

Provenance: The Rothschild Family Collection.

Exhibited: 85th Anniversary Exhibition of Chinese Jades from Tang to Qing, Marchant, London, 2010, p. 110, no. 82 

Note: A closely related jade representation of two boys washing an elephant in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated by Yang Boda, The Collection of Chinese Jades from the Palace Museum, Beijing, vol. 9, 1986, pp. 181-182, no. 309, and illustrated on the cover.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong | 08 Apr 2014 -www.sothebys.com