A rare pale green jade winged mythical beast, Six Dynasties Period or later
Lot 43. A rare pale green jade winged mythical beast, Six Dynasties Period or later; 10.3cm (4in) long. Estimate HK$ 150,000 - 200,000 (€17,000 - 23,000). Sold for HK$ 350,000 (€ 41,525). Photo Bonhams.
Carved in the form of a ram-like animal with a pair of curled horns and stylised wings on the sides, the stone of a pale green tone with pale brown-grey areas and russet inclusions.
Note: From the Han dynasty onwards, jade carvings of mythical beasts attained a great sculptural quality and were typically executed with wings or other scrolling limbs protruding from their bodies. Most common amongst the mythological creatures carved in jade were dragons and bixie. The present lot is rare for the depiction of a ram-like creature. The head, remnants of curling horns, and the elongated round body, are similar to those on carved jade recumbent rams. Compare with one such example, Eastern Han dynasty to Former Liang dynasty, excavated at Lingjuntai, Wuwei, in the Gansu Museum, illustrated by J.Watt, China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750AD, New York, 2004, p.183, no.89.
The excavation of Neolithic tombs and burial pits with jade carvings which were found broken or with traces of burning suggest ritual treatment. See B.M.Fagan, The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, Oxford, 1996, p.138. This ritual breaking of burial objects, dating as early as the Neolithic period, may possibly explain the broken appendages of the present jade carving.
Bonham's. THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION OF CHINESE JADES, 11:00 HKT, HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY