A JADE PIG TANG / SONG DYNASTY

the mottled black and grey irregular pebble-shaped stone with russet rivering, carved with a crouching pig, the facial features and body contours delinated by simple lines, the lower lip pierced with a small hole

Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 74.

Hei-Chi, Jades from the Hei-Chi Collection, Beijing, 2006, p. 146.

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."

For a similar animal plaque carving see one in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 355, fig. 8; and a pig of related form, in the Guanfu collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1980, cat. no. 18. The pose of this animal can be traced back to the Han (206BC-AD220) and Six Dynasties (220-589AD); compare a figure of a pig in the Laurence Sickman collection, and another, in the Bei Shan Tang collection, attributed to the Han and Six Dynasties, respectively included in the exhibition ibid., cat. nos. 15 and 16, where it is written that the 'shortened version' of the stone or jade pig is thought to have appeared for the first in the 3^rd century AD (see p. 46).

Jade carvings of pigs were used in burials throughout the Han and Six Dynasties period, and symbolises prosperity and abundance.