Lot 144
Treasury 1, no. 140 (‘The Master of the Rocks Five Monkeys Jade’)
HK$350,000

Nephrite of pebble material; well hollowed, with a recessed convex foot; carved with five monkeys picking fruit from a peach tree growing from a rocky outcrop, three of the monkeys on the rocky ground, each holding a peach, the other two in the tree, where three more large fruit are ripe for picking, the narrow sides with mask-and-ring handles
Master of the Rocks school, 1740–1850
Height: 6.31 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.5/1.7 cm
Stopper: quartz; glass collar

Provenance:
Gerd Lester (1986)

Published:
Kleiner 1995, no. 84
Treasury 1, no. 140

Exhibited:
British Museum, London, June–October 1995

The material favoured by the Master of the Rocks school was known in the late Qing period as ‘yellow steamed-chestnut’ and to modern collectors as ‘han’ jade — see discussion under no. 1. It was far from the only material used, but was sufficiently popular to have become a characteristic trade-mark.

A possibly significant feature of this impressive example is also common to the school. It has a small mouth in relation to the lip, in this case almost as small as any known jade snuff bottle of normal size, and similar to Sale 1, lot 45. This may not preclude wider mouths from the school, but it is an indication of a typical mouth detail. Both these bottles also have confidently carved forms with neat, crisp and pronounced footrims. They are also superbly finished.

This is not the Sotheby’s sale catalogue. This is a product of Hugh Moss for the purposes of this website. For the catalogue details please refer to Sotheby’s website or request a copy of a printed sale catalogue from Sotheby’s.