This masterpiece of jade carving employs as much of the original stone as possible and turns it into a naturalistic representation of a goldfish with lotus flowers. The balance between the weightiness of the plump fish, its scales ingeniously suggested through the russet skin of the pebble, and the delicate openwork of the lotus leaves and flower attest to the carver’s expertise. Furthermore, the subtle fine details of the tail and veins on the leaves provide further delight when held and appreciated in the hand.

A related carving of a similarly plump fish with curled tail, depicted with a clam and a frog, but of smaller size, in the Rannerdale Collection, was included in the exhibition Jades from China, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, 1994, cat. no. 335, together with a simpler carving of a goldfish and shells, cat. no. 336; one with the fish clasping a long lingzhi root in its mouth, sold in our London rooms, 10th May 2017, lot 19; and another, of two fish, was included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 95, where this mixture of white jade with large areas of natural russet skin is described as ‘silver wrapped in gold (jin guo yin)’ (p. 155).

Compare also a carving of two carps among waves, also modeled with minimal wastage of the stone, in the B.S. McElney Collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing, Asia Society, New York, 1980, cat. no. 90; and another depicting a pair of catfish grasping a lingzhi stem, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 970, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th October 2016, lot 54, from the collection of Roger Keverne.

本玉雕精工巧作，盡用原玉良材，刻劃蓮花金魚自然寫實，金魚飽滿豐潤，巧以玉材皮色處刻劃魚鱗，魚尾、葉紋等細節精緻入微，縷雕花葉細膩柔美，把玩手中尤其可喜，足見玉匠卓藝。

參考一相類作例，魚尾捲曲，並刻蛤、蛙，尺寸較小，出自 Rannerdale 收藏，曾展於《Jades from China》，東亞藝術博物館，巴斯，1994年，編號335，同展另有一例雕金魚蛤貝，工略簡，編號336；亦比一例，金魚口銜靈芝，售於倫敦蘇富比2017年5月10日，編號19；另一雙魚例，曾展於《玉緣?德安堂藏玉展》，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號95。書中記，「以白玉子料琢成，保留了較多的玉皮之色，此種玉料被稱為金裹銀，尤為珍貴。」（頁155）

另可比較一例，雕雙鯉乘浪，同樣盡用原玉良材，出自麥雅理先生收藏，曾展於《Chinese Jades from Han to Ch’ing》，亞洲協會，紐約，1980年，編號90；再比一例，雕鯰魚一對，口銜靈芝，售於香港佳士得1996年11月3日，編號970，後易手於香港蘇富比2016年10月5日，編號54，出自 Roger Keverne 珍藏。