Lot 139. A pair of grey jade carvings of pigs, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 11.5cm (4 1/2in) long. Estimate HK$ 180,000-220,000. Sold for HK$ 227,500 (€ 24,229). Photo: Bonhams.

Each recumbent beast of long tubular form, with legs tucked at the sides, carved with a flat snout, incised eyes, and a small pierced tail, the semi-translucent stone of grey tone with calcified chalky areas, box. 

Note: Jade carvings such as the present lot were part of an extensive range of jade objects which were buried in tombs for the protection of the interred. More specifically, pairs of jade pigs were placed in the hands of the deceased. This practice is connected with the Daoist belief, as stated in the 4th century text Baopuzi by Ge Hong, 'when gold and jade plug the nine orifices, man dies but his body does not decay'.

Funerary jade pigs from this period are often carved with a few deep calculated cuts, known as the 'Eight Cuts of Han'. Compare similarly carved Han dynasty jade pigs including: two illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 4, Beijing, 2011, p.130, nos.152-153; and a pair in the Sir Joseph Hotung collection, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1996, p.319, no.24:10.

A pair of similarly carved pale brownish-green jade pigs, from the Sze Yuan Tang collection, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 31.

From the Sze Yuan Tang collection. A pair of pale brownish-green jade carvings of pigs, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD); 12cm (4 2/3in) long. Estimate HK$ 150,000-180,000. Sold for HK$ 1,360,000 (€ 161,328) at Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 31. Photo: Bonhams.

Cf. my post: A pair of pale brownish-green jade carvings of pigs, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 1 Dec 2020, Hong Kong, Admiralty