CARVED BY LIN QINGQING WITH SIGNATURE OF DENG ERYA, LATE QING DYNASTY-REPUBLIC PERIOD

Lin Qingqing (1876-1948) was a native of Fuzhou, Fujian province, and one of the most notable soapstone carvers of the late Qing and Republic periods. He specialised in low-relief carving, and took great lengths to study Chinese paintings in order to obtain a deeper understanding and control of foundational elements such as brushstrokes and composition, which he had skifuly incorporated into his carvings.
Deng Erya (1884-1954) was a native of Dongguan, Guangdong province, and relocated to Hong Kong in 1921. The uncle of the eminent scholar in Chinese archaic scripts, Rong Geng, Deng was a respected poet, calligrapher, painter and seal carver.