Lot 1415
Published Piece: Important Spodumene var. Kunzite Carving, Ex. Herb and Monika Obodda Collection
26 – 27 October 2020, 11:00 PDT
Los AngelesSold for US$18,825 inc. premium
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Published Piece: Important Spodumene var. Kunzite Carving, Ex. Herb and Monika Obodda Collection
Carved By Hing Wa Lee, San Gabriel, California, USA
Circa 1978
Afghanistan
Depicting the Buddha, surrounded by a dragon in relief, surmounted by a pagoda or temple, sitting atop crashing waves. This is the largest Kunzite carving in existence, of which we are aware. Weighing approximately 5164.5 carats (1033.0 grams) and measuring 5 ½ x 3 ¼ x 2 ½ in. Height with wooden stand, measuring 7 ¼ in
Circa 1978
Afghanistan
Depicting the Buddha, surrounded by a dragon in relief, surmounted by a pagoda or temple, sitting atop crashing waves. This is the largest Kunzite carving in existence, of which we are aware. Weighing approximately 5164.5 carats (1033.0 grams) and measuring 5 ½ x 3 ¼ x 2 ½ in. Height with wooden stand, measuring 7 ¼ in
Footnotes
Provenance: Ex. Herb and Monika Obodda Collection.
Accompanied by a copy of Lapidary Journal Magazine, March 1983, where the Kunzite carving was featured on the front cover and in an article about the gemstone carvings of Hing Wa Lee. Herb Obodda obtained the rough used in this commissioned work in Afghanistan.
Hing Wa Lee
In 1965, at the age of 18, Hing Wa Lee graduated to become a Master Gem Carver. He started his own factory exporting gemstone carvings worldwide to great acclaim. His first factory was named Hing Wa Lee San Wu Jade Workshop, located in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Even at that time he was considered to be a great, modern day master of gemstone carving. Moving to the United States in the 1970s, he was enlisted to work on restoring jade carvings at the Smithsonian Institute. This helped to establish his reputation in the United States. In 1980, He opened a gallery in Los Angeles, California, selling to the growing Chinese-American market in southern California.
