A small yellow and russet jade figure of a recumbent buffalo, 17th century | 十七世紀 黄玉臥牛

The buffalo has long been a popular subject matter for jade carving, with notable examples from the Han Dynasty onwards: see, for example, the small mottled green jade buffalo dated to the Han Dynasty illustrated by R-Y.Lefebvre-d'Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, Japan, 1972, pl.XXII.

The peaceful and tranquil nature of the present recumbent buffalo is expertly captured in the soft modelling of its body and pose, while the gently raised nose heightened by natural russet inclusions create a visually amusing detail. A jade buffalo rendered in a similar pose, from the collection of Rena G. Segal, was sold at Christie’s New York, 23rd March 1995, lot 208; a slightly smaller one was sold in our New York rooms, 3rd June 1979, lot 293; See also a slightly smaller yellow jade recumbent buffalo from the T. Y. Chao Collection, and later sold at these rooms, 30th November 2018, lot 340.

牛作春耕的象徵，寓意耕種和勤勉；在以農立國的古代中國，其重要地位顯而易見。農家視牛如寶，對耕牛嚴忌宰殺。玉牛最早見於漢代，如一件漢代玉牛，見R-Y.Lefebvre d'Argencé著，《Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection》，日本，1972年，圖版22。造型類似的玉雕牛，見Rena G. Segal舊藏一例，後售於紐約佳士得1995年3月23日，編號208；另有尺寸更小一例，售於紐約蘇富比1979年6月3日，編號293；參看對比一件清十八世紀黃玉臥牛，為趙從衍舊藏，後售於香港蘇富比2018年11月30日，編號340。