B30

Chalcedony, beige with a dark brown 'splash', minimally carved to depict Liu Hai dancing whilst attempting to save his three legged toad by dangling his cash string, the toad looking up in appreciation; the bottle of flattened rectangular form standing on a raised oval foot.

Chinese, 1750 - 1850
Stopper: amethyst
Provenance: Lt. Col. B.M.L. Forsyth, (sold at Christies, London, 1978)
Height: 6.2cm

Liu Hai is a much-loved mythological character, nearly always depicted with a long piece of string on which he keeps his money safe. He is usually accompanied by a three- legged toad, which seems to get into trouble easily and needs to be rescued by Liu Hai. In this depiction it is interesting to note that Liu Hai appears to have longer hair than he is usually shown with. This is an excellent example of so called 'shadow agate' whereby a minimum of carving creates the desired effect in an animated and charming manner.