Beschreibung:

A FINE WHITE JADE 'WATER BUFFALO AND BOY' GROUPQianlong Exquisitely carved in the round as a recumbent buffalo with its head turned to the left gazing at a boy playfully clambering up its back, the boy supporting himself with one hand holding a rope, the ridged horns delicately carved resting above the ears, the powerful body accentuated by a pronounced spine, the smoothly-polished stone of even white tone with a faint russet inclusion, wood stand. 8cm (3 1/8in) long (2).Footnotes清乾隆 白玉雕童子牧牛 Provenance: Christie's London, 4 April 1979, lot 64 James Basil Wilson and Julia Wilson, and thence by descent In 1945, James Basil Wilson returned from The Second World War having served with the Gurkhas. He married Julia Burke in 1949 and they moved to London. James started working for Iron and Steel Exporters and later that year, he was offered the chance to set up an office Hong Kong, so they moved there and set up home. The business was successful, they loved Hong Kong and they lived the life of ex-patriates to the full. They swam, played golf, made friends and indulged their passion for fast cars, competing in amateur road races. Julia claimed to have won at the first Macau Grand Prix. As well as enjoying the pastimes of the culture they brought with them, they developed an enduring love for China, Chinese people, Chinese food and Chinese art. With a growing family, they returned to England in 1957. They brought with them the pieces they had bought in Hong Kong and James made many trips to Hong Kong and continued to build their collection throughout the following decades mainly from dealers in London. 來源：倫敦佳士得，1979年4月4日，拍品編號64 James Basil Wilson與Julia Wilson伉儷舊藏，並由後人保存迄今 James Basil Wilson二戰期間曾於廓爾喀軍團服役，1945年返回英國。 1949年與Julia Burke結婚，婚後搬至倫敦，並開始為Iron and Steel Exporters效力，同年被委任籌備香港辦事處，遂移居香港。事業發展蒸蒸日上的同時，Wilson伉儷也充分享受著外派人士的理想生活；游泳、打高爾夫、結交朋友，沉迷賽車運動甚至參加業餘車手街道賽，Julia聲稱曾完賽首屆澳門格蘭披治大賽車。在保留西方生活方式的同時，Wilson伉儷也對中國及其民眾、美食和藝術產生了長久的熱情。 1957年，隨著家庭的不斷壯大，Wilson一家回到英國，並帶回了其在香港購置的藝術品。此後，James多次前往香港，並在接下來的幾十年中持續造訪倫敦的古董商，擴充藏品。 A favourite theme of the rural idyll depicted by Chinese painters such as Li Tang (1050-after 1130) shows a small boy either riding or leading a water buffalo. A painting by Li Tang, Herd Boy with Water Buffalo and Calf, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei is illustrated by A.B.Wicks, Children in Chinese Art, Honolulu, 2002, p.54, fig.2.6. This became a theme seen in small jade carvings of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Two such carvings, where the boy either lies on or is beside the recumbent water buffalo which has a rope through its nostrils, are illustrated by J.C.Y.Watt, Chinese Jade from Han to Ch'ing, New York, 1980, p.66, nos.47 and 48. Compare with a similarly carved group in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 9, Beijing, 2011, p.145, no.135. Another 18th century example with the boy standing beside a recumbent water buffalo and holding one of its horns was included by The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York in the exhibition A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection, New York, 2015, no.20, (acc.no.02.18.438) Another example of similar subject matter in the Beijing Art Museum, with a boy holding a flute, his hand on the horn of the water buffalo, is illustrated in Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series: Jades, Beijing, 2002, p.190, no.221. See also a white jade buffalo and boy, Qianlong, in the collection of Anthony K.W.Cheung, illustrated in Virtuous Treasures: Chinese Jade for the Scholars' Table, Hong Kong, 2007, pp.170-171, no.96.