Lot 94. A rare celadon jade figure of an eagle in flight, Western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD); 6.4 cm, 2 ½ in. Estimate: 400,000 - 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 504,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

rendered with a pair of outstretched wings incised with fine plumage, portrayed with alert eyes and a hooked beak, the underside of the bird with a pair of low-relief claws, the subtly rounded body pierced through with an aperture.

Property from the Hei-Chi Collection.

Note: Naturalistically modelled in the form of an eagle with alert eyes and a hooked beak, the present jade carving illustrates the unsurpassed craftsmanship of the Han dynasty artisans. The long feathers of its wings, neatly arranged in layers and outlined by subtle incisions, can be differentiated from the plumage indicated by small 'v' on its back. A very similar depiction of feathers can be found on the famous Western Han dynasty jade bird unearthed near the mausoleum of Emperor Yuandi (r. 48-33 BC), Weicheng, Xianyang, now preserved in the Xianyang Museum (Tan Shengguang, ed., Everlasting like the Heavens: The Cultures and Arts of the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang, Shanghai, 2019, p. 368). Although closely related to the excavated example in terms of size, form and decoration, the present carving is perforated, suggesting that it might have been used as an ornament, such as a staff finial.

For other Han dynasty jade birds, see two included in the exhibition Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. nos 53-54; and another one, included in Teng Shuping, One Hundred Jades from the Lantien Shanfang Collection, Taipei, 1995, pl. 90.