China, 17th-18th century. Carved in a standing position, using the natural shape of the gnarled wood to depict the robe. Supporting a mythical three-legged toad on his right shoulder.
Condition: Fine golden-brown patina. Some wear, minor losses, intrinsic age cracks. Scattered tiny wormholes. A superb naturally grown patina with a soft, unctuous finish. Provenance: The Oriental Art Collector. Quek Kiok Lee (1921-2018), acquired from the above on 15 December 1980. Singaporean businessman, banker and investor Quek Kiok Lee was the founder of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society (SEACS) and Acquisitions Advisor on Chinese Antiquities for the National University of Singapore.
Weight: 1,149 g Dimensions: Height 23.7 cm
The story of Liu Hai is frequently told as “Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad”. However, there is a hidden meaning here: The Chinese word for “toad” is chanchu. Sometimes, Chinese will only pronounce the first character chan. In some Chinese dialects, the character chan has a pronunciation very similar to qian which means “coin”. Therefore, a storyteller reciting “Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad” could also be heard by listeners as “Liu Hai playing with the gold coins”.
Later fitted stand. (2)
Auction result comparison: Compare with a related burlwood carving of a luohan sold in these rooms in Fine Chinese Art, Buddhism and Hinduism on 27 September 2019, lot 101, for €2,000.