Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

A FINE CHINESE CELADON JADE 'POMEGRANATE' GROUP
QIANLONG 1736-95

Carved as two pomegranates issuing from a leafy stem, each fruit carved with a finely defined calyx, a small cicada clambering amidst the foliage and the underside of the larger fruit peeled to reveal the many hexagonal seeds within, the stone with light mottling and scattered instances of russet veining, 9.5cm.

Provenance: from an English private collection, Buckinghamshire, purchased in Hong Kong in the 1950s.

The pomegranate is an auspicious motif in China, its many seeds making it a symbol of fertility and abundance. The fruit is often depicted with a section of skin peeled back to show the numerous seeds inside, as seen in the piece offered here. This image forms the rebus liukai baizi, or 'the pomegranate opens revealing one hundred sons', conveying the wish for many offspring. For a related white jade pomegranate carving, see the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, vol.9, p.172, no.162. The additional element of the cicada further enhances this meaning, as the image of the insect high up in tree canopies emitting its calling song is referred to as yiming jingren, comparing it to someone unknown who goes on to achieve great fame with an impressive feat. Hence, the piece offered here also carries the connotation of wishing that those many sons may go on to achieve greatness in their lives.

清乾隆 青白玉雕秋蟬石榴擺件
來源：英國白金漢郡私人收藏，1950年代購於香港。