AN EXCEPTIONAL AND EXTREMELY RARE YELLOW JADE FIGURE OF A MYTHICAL BEAST HAN / SIX DYNASTIES

powerfully modelled in the form of a ferocious crouching mythical beast of feline form, depicted with right foreleg extended frontwards and left hind leg stretched backwards, the head turned slightly to the left and finely incised details on the back, wings and head, with well-defined horns above the beast's well-rendered eyes and snout, the front haunches subtly picked out with scales, the elongated torso flanked by a pair of short curved wings sprouting from its shoulders, the arched muscular body terminating with a long curled tail, the lustrous stone of a warm colour mottled with faint russet inclusions, wood box

Collection of Xu Hanqing (1882-1950s).
Christie's New York, 15th September 2011, lot 888.

The carving is in good condition. There is a minute nibble to the tip of one claw. The actual colour of the stone is of a less orange-red tone than the catalogue illustration.
"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 Han dynasty saw a heightened interest in the representation of powerful mythical creatures in durable materials such as stone and jade. In distinct contrast to pottery figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts mass-produced for tombs to provide support in the afterlife, the function of these lifelike sculptures made from durable materials was to embody and pacify the elemental and supernatural forces of the living world. Large stone figures of ferocious beasts including lions and tigers, and imaginary winged figures, were all placed on the tomb avenues of emperors and high ranking officials and military commanders, a tradition that flourished and reached a peak during the Six Dynasties, when immense fabulous beasts drawn from the spiritual world were produced on a grand scale outside the tombs near Nanjing. Simultaneously, an artistic tradition of creating jade animals of the highest quality flourished. In contrast to the majority of earlier two-dimensional jade carvings, made for the afterlife or to adorn the individual, these figural sculptures were created in the round as independent objects, not just as sumptuous display items for the appreciation of the elite, but also to provide the owner with a constant and concrete realisation of the powerful supernatural forces latent in the world around.

Evidence of this rich tradition of craftsmanship has been transmitted down through a small number of high quality carvings, of which the current sculpture is one of the greatest surviving examples, perfectly encapsulating this tradition. In its exquisite articulation from a lustrous coloured pebble in which the full contours have been so skillfully and compactly utilised, it is a truly outstanding sculpture, a tour-de-force of carving. The only other jade mythical beast of the period of comparable quality ever to have appeared at auction was sold in our New York rooms, 2nd November 1979, lot 51, and is now in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung. Catalogued as Six Dynasties in the 1979 auction, it was more recently redated to the Han period by Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 26:7, on account of its similarity to a jade bixie discovered in 1972 at Xianyang near present-day Xian, near the tomb of the Han emperor Yuandi (r. 48-33BC), now housed in the collection of Xianyang City Museum, and illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua dacidian: jin yin yu shi juan, Shanghai, 1996, p.54, pl. 166.

Slightly smaller (8.4cm) than the current figure, the Hotung mythical beast shares the same distinct features: the powerful bulging eyes and sharply defined jaws; the dynamic taut posture bristling in anticipation of impending movement, snarling and ready to pounce; the fine striated lines, especially at the edges, so typical of early Han jades, with strong bands of relief and deeply incised curved lines that radiate around the body, enhancing the overall sculptural quality; the short curved wings sprouting from the shoulders and the long coiling tail; as well as the skillful integration of the natural russet-brown inclusions into the design of the beast.

For examples of early mythical jade animals from the Qing court collection, compare the famous Eastern Han dynasty bixie in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the museum's exhibition Splendid Treasures. A Hundred Masterpieces of the National Palace Museum on Parade, Taipei, 2012, cat. no. 18; and the Han dynasty jade winged beast in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware 1, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 201.

See also a Six Dynasties jade beast illustrated by Eskenazi, Chinese jades from a private collection, London, 1976, cat. no. 7. Previously exhibited in the Stockholm exhibition Celadon-Jade, 1963 and published in the catalogue by Bo Gyllensvard as cat. no. 65, it was also included in the 1975 Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition Chinese Jade throughout the Ages, illustrated by Jessica Rawson and John Ayers, London, 1975, cat. no. 186. It depicts a crouching lion or chimera with similar bold modelling in the round, with closely related use of fine striated lines to convey the combed arcs of the fur, grooved folds on the chest and skilfully incised spirals, and a similar dynamic posture of impending movement. The catalogue notes that ‘this type of fabulous animal is related to the monumental stone sculptures found outside tombs near Nanking, which were made during the latter part of the Six Dynasties’, referencing Osvald Siren, Chinese Sculpture, volume II, London, 1925, pls. 3-7 and 9-13.  

For other rare examples of comparable quality, see a Six Dynasties jade chimera from the collection of Dr and Mrs Cheng Te-k’un, illustrated by James Watt, Chinese Jade from Han to Ch’ing, The Asia Society, New York, 1980, pl. 12; and two smaller chimera from the collection of W.P. Chung, illustrated by Ip, Yee, Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. nos. 126 and 127.

Xu Hanqing, the former owner of this sculpture, was born in Shandong in 1882, and served as an official of the Minister of Justice and a member of the Inspection Committee of the Jinan branch of the Qing Central Bank in the last years of the Qing dynasty. In the early Republican period, he was instrumental in the founding of the Continental Bank, and formed an extensive collection of works of art and calligraphy. A work of calligraphy by Su Shi from his collection, sold in our New York rooms, 19th September 2013, lot 565, is now in the collection of the Long Museum, Shanghai.