A JADE CARVING OF A TIGER SHANG DYNASTY

rendered in profile as a crouching tiger, pierced with a small aperture, the stone of a greige tone with russet inclusions

The overall condition is very good.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The carefully modelled and smoothly finished quality of the present piece boasts the technical and artistic accomplishments of the Shang craftsmen. Tigers entered the repertoire of the Shang jade carver at about the same time as the dragon, but resemble the tigers seen on the handles of bronze vessels excavated at Jiangxi Xin'gan Dayangzhou. As with the dragon pendants, the early examples of tigers tend to be three-dimensional but the pendants were very quickly flattened and then simplified. The shapes and decoration of such tiger carvings are rarely completely identical unless intended to form a pair.

Two closely related versions in the Simon Kwan collection were included in the exhibition Chinese Archaic Jades from the Kwan Collection, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994, cat. nos 82 and 83; another in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, is published in Max Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades, Cambridge, Mass., 1975, pl. 146; and another in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 12:8. For further related examples, see one sold at Christie's New York, 4^th June 1987, lot 41; another sold at Christie's London, 11^th December 1978, lot 190; and a third tiger sold in our New York rooms, 20^th March 1976, lot 11.