Lot 149. A jade 'animal mask' pendant, Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 4.1 by 4.6 cm. Lot sold: 201,600 HKD (Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022
the flat plaque intricately incised on both sides with a complex design, centred with an outline of a shield suggesting an archer's ring (she), between an elaborate animal mask with prominent horns, large eyes with striated brows, and a stylised bird in profile, the translucent jade of a pale celadon tone with russet streaks.
Provenance: R.H. Ellsworth Ltd, New York, 20th August 1986.
Literature: Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 20:4.
Exhibited: British Museum, London, on loan, 1995.
Sotheby's. HOTUNG The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung: Part 1, Hong Kong, 9 October 2022
