Lot 1406. A rare white jade-inset zitan small table screen; jade plaque, Jin-Yuan dynasty, 13th-14th century, zitan screen, 18th-19th century; 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm.) high. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 40,000. Price realised USD 104,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

The rectangular reticulated plaque finely and deeply carved with a banana plant, flanked by a rooster standing on pierced rocks on one side and a hen and two chicks pecking at the ground on the other side, set into a zitan stand finely carved with archaistic dragons and inset with a narrow openwork panel of clouds, the apron carved with further clouds. 

Note: The deep style of carving, with fine detail and high relief, seen on the present jade plaque is indicative of an early date. Several small white jade carvings bearing similar characteristics and dating to the Song-Yuan dynasties can be found in the Qing Court collection and are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (II), Hong Kong, 1995, nos. 91-2 (Song dynasty) and 119-20 (Yuan dynasty). The fact that the zitan screen was made to fit the plaque attests to its value even at the time.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I and Part II Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 24 March 2011