Lot 14. A rare white jade 'parrot' peach-shaped cup, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); 10.8cm (4 1/4in) long. Estimate HK$450,000 - 600,000. Sold for HK$ 562,500 (€ 61,080). Courtesy Bonhams.

Finely carved and well hollowed as a half peach, borne on a five-petal flowerhead issuing from fruiting and flowering tendrils skilfully carved in openwork and forming the handle, with a large parrot perched next to two peaches, its well-incised wings extended, the stone of an attractive warm white tone finished with a lustrous soft polish.

Note: Compare a similar pale green and russet jade peach-shaped cup carved with parrot and peach, Ming dynasty, 15th/16th century, from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Tsao Huei-chung, Jade: From Emperors to Art Deco, Paris, 2017, no.71. See also another similar white and russet jade cup, Ming dynasty, from the Xiwenguo Zhai Collection, illustrated in The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 2010, no.205; and for a third example see Sydney L. Moss Ltd., Emperor, Scholar, Artisan, Monk: The Creative Personality in Chinese Works of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, no.94.

The present cup is remarkable for the fine quality of the jade stone and skillful craftsmanship evident in the refined carving of the feathers and subtle form of the peach-shaped cup. The carving draws its inspiration from nature whether in the form of the peach fruit, flowers, tendrils, or the parrot. This exemplifies the view of literati during the Ming dynasty, who saw nature as the highest expression of intellectual and moral qualities, and therefore sought to surround themselves in their daily life with objects expressing the idealised quest for spirituality.