Lot 802. A small greyish-green jade 'buffalo’, Late Shang-Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 12th-10th century BC. Estimate USD 4,000 - USD 6,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.

Possibly a necklace closure, the thick plaque is carved as a recumbent water buffalo with legs tucked under the body and head turned to the side, the horns carved in thread relief. The reverse is more cursorily detailed. There is a bull-nose hole below the nose and a bi-conical hole drilled through the body. 1 ¾ in. (4.5 cm.) wide

Provenance: The Erwin Harris Collection, Miami, Florida, by 1995.

Note: Compare the similar jade water buffalo carved in flat relief and dated to the Shang dynasty in the Mrs. Edward Sonnenschein Collection, Chicago, illustrated by A. Salmony, Carved Jade of Ancient China, 1938, pl. XXIII (8). See, also, the example in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, illustrated by J. Rawson, 'Animal Motifs in Early Western Zhou Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Chinese Bronzes: Selected articles from Orientations, 1983-2000, Hong Kong, p. 20, fig. 12.

Christie's. The Harris Collection: Important Early Chinese Art, 16 March 2017, New York, Rockefeller Center