Group of two monkeys
Date
c. 1890 - c. 1910
Materials
white jade
Order this imageCollection
Polesden Lacey, Surrey
NT 1247184
Summary
Carved white jade figure of an adult and a young monkey holding a peach, Chinese, late 19th or early 20th century. The figural group refers to the Monkey King stealing the peaches of immortality in the 16th-century epic novel Journey to the West (Xi You Ji), attributed to Wu Cheng’en. This object was bought from John Sparks Ltd, dealers in Chinese art based in Mayfair, London, and awarded a Royal Warrant by Queen Mary in 1926.
Provenance
The bequest of Margaret (Anderson) McEwan, The Hon. Mrs Ronald - later Dame Margaret - Henry Fulke Greville, DBE (1863-1942) from probate records linked with the donation of the property to the National Trust in 1943. This item found on the record for Polesden Lacey miniatures and small objects in the strong room, page 120.
