Lot 35, A rare pale green jade figure of a male dancer, Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220); 10.4cm (4 1/8in) high. Estimate HK$ 300,000 - 400,000 (€35,000 - 46,000). Sold for HK$ 31,480,000 (€ 3,734,282). Photo: Bonhams.

Carved balancing on one foot with the other leg in mid-step bent at the knee, with one arm outstretched in front of the bare chest, the other arm raised to the back with an object grasped in his hand, the striking face with prominent eyes, nose and a wide mouth with large front teeth, the stone of a pale green tone with opaque straw and dark brown inclusions. 

Note: During the Han dynasty, entertainment for the elite typically included dances and performances, as evidenced by Han dynasty tomb reliefs and pottery figurines. Generally, the line between dance and acrobatics, which included juggling and martial arts, was blurred. See, K.Soar and C.Aamodt, 'Archaeological Approaches to Dance Performance', BAR International Series, British Archaeological Reports, Vol.2622, Oxford, 2014, p.71. Compare the similar poses of the bare-chested bodies of acrobats and jugglers depicted on a tomb relief from Chengdu, Sichuan, in the Chengdu Museum, illustrated by R.L.Thorp and R.E.Vinograd, Chinese Art and Culture, London, 2001, p.128, nos.4-9. 

Compare several related Eastern Han dynasty pottery figures of male dancers including: one excavated in 1963 in Pi County, Sichuan Province; another excavated in 1982 from Majiashan tomb no.23 in Xindu County, Sichuan Province, illustrated by S.Lee, China: 5000 Years, New York, 1998, pls.96 and 97; and two earthenware dancers with similar clothes and poses in the Charlotte C. and John C. Weber collection, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number 1994.605,87a,b.

Bonhams. THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION OF CHINESE JADES, 11:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY