Jade Dragon Turtle of Early 20th Century

The high quality He Tien jade is very hard, has a beautiful pale greenish grayish color, and is translucent, uniform in texture with patches of cloudy suspension within.  Its surface is very smooth, waxy/oily of polished high quality jade.  Dragon turtle, having dragon head and turtle body, is one of the four gods of ancient China.  It is rarely used as a motif of carving except late Qing Dynasty and early Republic.  It has a well-sculptured matching hardwood base.

Size:  3 1/2 (8.9 cm.) h x 4 in. (10 cm.) w 

Provenance: From an important California collector, whose grandfather a major antique dealer during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic, and was a patron of painters Wu Changshuo and Huang Binhong.