QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

The jade pebble is well carved as a rare group of three Buddhist lions. The adult Buddhist lion has bulging eyes, a well-defined backbone, and finely detailed combed fur with its head turned. A playful young cub is clambering on one side of the lion, nestled between its paws is a brocade ball, while a second cub is recumbent on the other side. Qing court lion groups usually consist of two lions and a yellow jade three lion group is extremely rare. The present yellow jade three lion group has the same carving style and rendition as other jade lion groups in the Qing Court collection in the palace museums in Beijing and Taipei.