A FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE 'HOUND' PAPERWEIGHT SONG/YUAN DYNASTY

finely carved as a reclining hound with its head turned to the left and resting on its outstretched front paws, the hind legs tucked under its slender body, the knobbly spine well defined with ridges and the tail curled alongside its left haunch, its floppy ears, facial features and ribs naturalistically carved in relief, the smoothly polished stone of an exceptionally even white tone throughout 

Jade carvings of hound-like dogs in a resting pose with outstretched legs can be found from as early as the Tang dynasty, such as the carved figure included in the exhibition Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong, 1996, cat.no.68.  The present piece belongs to a group of distinctive jade animals delicately carved in naturalistic poses, which appears to have been popular from the Song dynasty until the early Qing.

A closely related jade hound figure attributed to the Song dynasty is illustrated in Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong, 1983, cat.no.136.  Another crouching hound jade figure, also attributed to the Song dynasty, is illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.366, pl.26:10, where the author notes that "hounds in jade may have been worn by those who wished to be known for their prowess in hunting."  Compare also a white jade figure of a recumbent hound attributed to the late Ming or early Qing period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th April 1997, lot 584.