| Antique
Chinese Ivory Carving
Taoist
Immortal
Holding
Immortal Fungus
Circa: Early 20th century
H 12 in.(30.5cm.),
W 3 in.(7.5cm.), D 2in.(5cm.)
Plus
1.5 inch height wood base. Weight 25 oz.
Condition:
hairlines. o.a. good.
A large
ivory carved from a single section of the tusk tip, dense, cream colored and well-marked
with striations and color variations occurring between the layers, the tusk has
several hairlines but observed no other defects. The antique carving depicting
a Chinese Immortal with an elegantly restrained beauty holding up in her left
hand a ling chi, the fungus of immortality, while her right holds a whisk with
a long ropey trail falling from a woven ball of horsehair. Her hair is layered
in an elaborate coiffure, her robes embroidered at the edges and blending with
the descending braided ropes and tassels, one of which holds a jade ornament at
the front. Her lovely face is softly contoured and finely finished and polished,
the expression composed and gently smiling. The back of the piece is an arrangement
of rippling folds and borders, a sweep of lines that animate the surface and lend
fullness and movement to the work. 
Private
Collection |  |
