well depicted recumbent with the hind legs tucked beneath the body, rendered with its head held high and grasping a stream of scrolling clouds supporting a book on its back, the beast further detailed with round eyes, curled whiskers and a scaly body, the stone of a pale celadon colour highlighted with russet veins

There is a small chip to the clouds on one side and other minute nibbling along the extremities. Otherwise the qilin is of very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This animated mythical creature has been skilfully carved in the round to capture both its playfulness and its archaic roots. The carver’s dexterity with the medium is apparent in the intricately detailed hooves and crisply rendered openwork web of lingzhi-shaped clouds. Small jade carvings of this type were commonly kept in the scholar’s studio where they were admired as prized possessions and utilised both as paperweights and as works of arts in their own right.

Compare a figure of a qilin similarly modelled with a book on its back raised on clouds, from the collection of H. F. Goldstein, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Chinese Jade throughout the Ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, cat. no. 374; another included in the exhibition Jade as Sculpture, Minnesota Muse𝐆um of Art, Minnesota, 1975, cat. no. 11; and a third sold in our London rooms, 6th/7th June 1967, lot 341, and again at Christie’s New York, 15th September 2011, 🤪lot 1030.