Lonely Heron
1780-1900
Height: 5.25 cm
Mouth: 0.55 cm
Stopper: pearl; gilt-silver collar
Provenance:
Taiwanese collection
Erik Weng, Guwan cheng, Beijing 2011
Knapton and Rasti, Ltd, March 2012
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.
Translucent white nephrite of pebble material; well hollowed, of natural, pebble form with no functional foot; the upper areas mostly of brown skin, with one darker area beneath it, part of which has been carved on one main side to emphasize a lone goose in flight beneath clouds, their edges carved, the clouds themselves of the brown skin material, above flowing water, the other main side with an inscription in relief clerical script, Luoxia yu gulu qifei, qiushui gong changtian yise 落霞與孤鷺齊飛, 秋水共長天一色 (‘Dropping mists and a solitary egret fly together; autumn waters stretch as distant as the sky ’).
