Lot 155
LARGE CHINESE AMBER CARVING OF DRINKING LIBAI
QING DYNASTY, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
Auction: 06 November 2026 from 10:00 GMT
Description
清 琥珀雕李白醉酒及松鶴同春大擺件
carved and pierced with Li Bai holding a cup and resting beside a large wine jar beneath a pine tree, the reverse with deer and lingzhi fungus, the amber of a deep, orange-red tone
Dimensions
10.8cm wide
Provenance
Private English collection, acquired from Christie's London, 14th May 2019, lot 231 (part lot);
Collection of the late Gerard Arnhold (1918-2010);
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27 October 1993, lot 384
英格蘭私人收藏，購於倫敦佳士得，2019年5月14日，部分拍品231；
Gerard Arnhold（1918–2010）舊藏;
香港蘇富比，1993年10月27日，拍品384
Footnote
Late Gerard Arnhold was born in 1918 to a well-known family of Jewish philanthropists in Dresden, Germany. The Arnhold family were forced to flee to the UK in 1936 when the National Socialist Party came to power and seized the family’s assets. Gerard studied at Kings College, Cambridge University, but left to serve in the British Army in 1940, working in intelligence and going back into Germany at a huge risk to himself. In 1953, he moved to Brazil and started up a successful technology company which he ran for 50 years.
As a result, Gerard was able to support several arts institutions and charities both in his birth town of Dresden and elsewhere, often requesting to remain anonymous. In the early 1980s, Gerard loaned a significant portion of his Chinese collections to the Oriental Museum, Durham University. He was keen that the collections should be appreciated and used to support the Museum’s educational mission. Following Gerard’s death in 2010, his family gave permission to acknowledge his generous contribution to the Oriental Museum.
Some other comparable amber carvings: one carved in openwork with two scholars under pine tree, 18th century, sold at Christie's Paris, 10 Dec 2025, lot 13; the same sale also has another amber carving depicting Yuqiaogengdu, 19th century, lot 19.
已故之Gerard Arnhold於1918年出生於德國德累斯頓一個著名的猶太慈善家家族。1936年，當納粹黨上台並沒收家族資產時，阿恩霍爾德家族被迫逃往英國。傑拉德曾就讀於劍橋大學國王學院，但於1940年離校加入英國陸軍，從事情報工作，並冒著極大風險重返德國。1953年，他移居巴西，創辦了一家成功的科技公司，經營達五十年之久。
因此，傑拉德得以支持其出生地德累斯頓及其他地方的數個藝術機構和慈善團體，並常要求匿名。1980年代初，傑拉德將其相當一部分中國收藏品借予杜倫大學東方博物館。他熱切希望這些收藏品能得到欣賞，並用於支持該博物館的教育使命。傑拉德於2010年去世後，其家族允許公開表彰他對東方博物館的慷慨貢獻。
其他一些可資比較的琥珀雕刻：一件透雕松樹下二位學者紋琥珀，十八世紀，於2025年12月10日在巴黎佳士得拍賣，拍品編號13；同場拍賣另有一件描繪「漁樵耕讀」之琥珀雕刻，十九世紀，拍品編號19。