Lot 3746. A rare and finely carved carnelian-agate 'Three Friends of Winter' double vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century; height 11.2 cm., 4 3/8  in. Estimate 320,000 — 380,000 HKD. Sold for 750,000 HKD (86,217 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

the vermillion stone carved as a pine tree segment and bamboo culm conjoined at the base with their trunks hollowed out and wrapped in twisting pine branches with a small cluster of lingzhi sprouting from the ground, the creamy white sections skilfully picked out as bamboo leaves and prunus blossoms at different stages of bloom.

Provenance: Collection of George de Menasce (1890-1967).
Collection of Pierre de Menasce (1902-73).

Exhibited: Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1975, cat. no. 491.

Literature: Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 35, 1963-64, pl. 130, no. 422.

Note: A carnelian-agate brushrest with similar high quality naturalistic treatment of the lingzhi, from the Qing court collection, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Small Refined Articles of the Study, Shanghai, 2009, p. 122, pl. 91. The form of this double vase, used for displaying flowers, can also be found on an amber double vase, similarly carved with the 'three friends of winter', also from the Qing court collection, illustrated, ibid., p. 334, pl. 331.