Beautiful little carving made of very light celadon Hetian jade. It dates most probably from the 18th century considering its fine and very detailed execution. The chicken was bought from antiques dealer mr Lewin of the Jade Company in Geneva, Switzerland in 1975. It holds a spray of millet in its beak. The chicken symbolizes a good marriage and the millet (many seeds) refers to a wish for many sons. We assume that it was a wedding gift. It remains a miracle how the fragile legs have survived for such a long time. The last photo shows a jade quail of the mid Qing period (1644 - 1912) which shows similarities to our chicken. Height 5.0 cm. Width 2.5 cm. Length 4.1 cm. Weight 54.4 grams.