A CALCIFIED JADE CARVING OF A BIRD SHANG - EARLY WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY |

the flat stone carved on both sides as a recumbent bird in profile, with large circular eyes and long sloping beak, a long hooked feather extending from the crown of the head alongside the remnant of another plume, the tail arced downward, the body incised with a spiral forming the breast, the olive-beige stone calcified and with traces of cinnabar

Collection of Lord Cunliffe, The Rt. Hon. Rolf, 2nd Baron Cunliffe of Headley (1899-1963).
Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, circa 1973.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 18th June 1986.
Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016) Irving, no. 61.

A Catalogue of Early Chinese Bronzes, Jades and Allied Decorative Works of Art from the Cunliffe Collection, Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, 1973, ill. pl. B. no. 65.

One of the crest feathers is lost (as illustrated), otherwise there are only scattered minute nicks to the surface. The stone is a lighter color than in the illustration in the printed catalog.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

See a related example illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 12:29, where the author notes that birds with long, downward turning tails were fairly common at Anyang and became more widespread during the Western Zhou. For a related, more elaborately incised example, see one from the collection of King Gustaf Adolf and in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, exhibited in Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, Oriental Ceramic Society, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1975, cat. no. 68.  Compare also a more elongated 'bird' pendant illustrated in Max Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection, Cambridge, 1975, pl. 256, and one sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 21st May 1982, lot 976. A more simplified pendant of similar form, attributed to the late Shang dynasty, sold at Christie's New York, 2nd June 1989.