9.2 cm. （3 5/8 in.） wide

The Buddha’s finger citron is a pun for prosperity or fu （福） and longevity or shou （壽）； the fungus of immortality is a pun for age or lingzhi （靈芝） because it resembles the head of the wish-granting sceptre or ruyi （如意）. Together they form the saying, ‘may you receive blessings of prosperity and longevity as you wish’.

Superbly carved coral scholar objects as exemplified by the present lot are rare and precious, especially sought after by the literati as objects of contemplation for their study. The masterful craftsmanship is well-represented in the finely detailed and naturalistic carving, such as the entwined tendrils and auspicious lingzhi, all rendered from an astonishing single large piece of coral. Coral objects of contemplation for the literati are recorded to be in use as early as the Northern Song dynasty by the famous Chinese painter, poet and calligrapher, Mi Fu （AD 1051-1107）； see a letter in the form of an album leaf written with ink on paper in kaishu titled ‘Letter on Collection with a Picture of Coral Brush Holder’, whereby Mi Fu describes and sketches a coral brush holder as one of his beloved personal effects in the Imperial collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, currently exhibited in the Hall of Martial Valour or Wuying dian from 21 April to 9 June. Mi Fu spontaneously drew a picture of the coral brush holder with his signature； which remians the only painting recorded with
his signature.

Coral is also one of the five sacred stones of the Tibetan Buddhists, and symbolizes the energy of life force. It is often believed that coral gives the bearer protection against the evil eye, whereby legend says that coral is supposed to lighten in color and become pale if the wearer became ill, exposed to or ingested poison； the coral would then darken as the wearer recovered. It is probable that the coral objects were placed on studies and desks to ward off evil and illness which might bring harm and impair the bearer from pursuing his scholarly pursuits.

Coral scholarly objects are relatively rare, but comparable scholar’s objects fashioned in the same form of finger citrons are found in Imperial Collections； see a late Ming dynasty carved rootwood finger citron by the artist Zhu Xiaosong in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Bamboo, Wood, Ivory, and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Shanghai 2001, p.4 no.3； see also another carved and stained ivory box and cover in the form of a finger citron （accession no.lv20276-7 /gudiao222 /yuan2031） in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Chi Jo-hsin, Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial Feats： The Carvings of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn, Taipei, 2010, pp.57-58, no.14.

Provenance：
A Japanese Private Collection
Acquired by the current owner in the early 2000s

Price estimate:
HKD: 400, 000 - 600, 000
USD: 51, 300 - 76, 900

Auction Result:
HKD: --