Figura de jade blanco "Pipa", dinastía Qing Lot n° 216

White jade carved in the shape of a musical instrument "Pipa" or "琵琶". It has an elongated neck terminated by a ruyi-shaped pegbox. The body is rounded and slightly narrower in the center; it is decorated with scrolls of various sizes arranged on the perimeter and a central scene made in bas-relief. The small scene shows a beautiful landscape surrounded by steep mountains, where two characters, an old man and a child, are arranged in the lower area giving a music lesson. The landscape ascends between the mountains, showing leafy trees and small flowers emerging from the rocks, and ends in a sky full of curled clouds that descend on the back of the piece. The pipa or "琵琶" whose name comes from the actual strumming of the string, is a plucked stringed instrument, similar to the Western lute. There are records of its existence dating back to the 2nd c. B.C. Its original measure (three feet five inches) alludes to the three kingdoms: Heaven, Earth and man, and the five natural elements; and its four strings represent the four seasons. Measurements: 28,5 x 1,2 x 10 cm Weight: 527,4 g