A very fine pale green jade carving of a finger citron, Qianlong. Photo: Bonhams

The attractive stone of a soft green tone, deeply hollowed to the interior and naturalistically carved as a finger citron, also known as Buddha's hand, with thick curling tendrils issuing from a gnarled stem with lifelike curling leaves and a smaller finger citron to one side, wood stand. 16.2cm (6 3/8in) high. Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 (€49,000 - 74,000)

Provenance: S.Marchant & Son Ltd., London
An English private collection

Notes: The Chinese name for the fruit, 佛手 foshou, is also a pun meaning 福 fu 'blessings' or 福 fu 'riches', followed by 壽 shou 'longevity'. In addition, the finger citron fruit was thought to resemble the hand of the Buddha, with its idealised, lotus-shaped 'fingers'. This association with the Buddha, combined with its strong, pleasant fragrance, made it a suitable altar offering to celebrate the New Year.

These numerous associations again made the fruit a popular subject matter for artists, and several examples can be found in important museum and private collections. An example from the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 9: Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no.159. Another pale green jade finger citron vase from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated by M.Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, p.52, no.51, where the author notes that such jade vases would have been considered visually more attractive than the natural fruit, and that powdered incense would have been placed in the vase cavity to replicate the natural fragrance. A further example is illustrated by Roger Keverne (ed.), in Jade, London, 1995, p.165, fig.94; and see another related example, 18th century, from the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, illustrated by C.Q.Mason in Spinach Green and Mutton-fat White: Chinese Jades of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Gainsville, Florida, 2006, p.40.

Compare also a related jade finger citron carving from the collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, illustrated by R.Kleiner in Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl.202, and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1396.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART. London, New Bond Street, 15 May 2014 - http://www.bonhams.com/