Lot 31. An archaistic jade bird pole finial with bronze fitting, Song dynasty (960-1279). Height 6 5/8  in., 16.7 cm. Sold 106,250 USD (Estimate 30,000 — 50,000). Photo Sotheby's

carved with its head turned back over the body, its upswept wings in very shallow relief with incised comma scrolls, the elaborate phoenix-like tail feathers curling downwards, perched on a cylindrical socket with cloud scrolls, the stone of mottled greenish-gray with rich russet and opaque tan inclusions, fitted with a bronze pole shaft with traces of gilding.  

Provenance: Collection of Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York

Literature: Alfred Salmony, Chinese Jade through the Wei Dynasty, New York, 1963, pl. XL-3, p. 251.

Note: James C.Y Watt, in Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, The Asia Society, New York, 1980, p. 94, notes that one of the characteristics of jades attributable to the Song period is the combination of a strong overall design and finely incised decorative patterns as seen on the present piece.

From the Song to Ming periods, bird-shaped jade staff finials were made in the Han style. In the chapter dealing with ceremonies in Fan Ye's History of the Later Han Dynasty (Hou Han shu li yiji), published in China in the fifth century, each year in mid-autumn those who had reached the age of seventy were presented with a foot long jade staff adorned at one end with the figure of a dove. The dove was chosen as the ideal gift for elderly persons because it is
known for its ability to swallow and digest anything without choking, and of course, the gift implied that the recipient would perform likewise.

Two related jade birds were included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, The Asia Society, New York, 1980, no. 78, p. 94, a bird with head turned and with incised archaistic detail, from the Ellsworth Collection, attributed to the Song dynasty; and no. 79, p. 95, a seated phoenix-like bird finial from the Field Museum of Natural History,  Chicago, attributed to the Song dynasty or later.

Another comparable bird in yellow jade dated to the Song dynasty is published in the exhibition catalogue Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 103, p. 127.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York, 17 september 2013