A white and russet jade 'mythical beast' group, Qing dynasty, 18th century | 清十八世紀 白玉雙瑞獸

The present pebble carving is possibly inspired by earlier figures of mythical beasts dated from the Song to Ming dynasty. The design of the unusual dragon-headed beast, with pendulous breasts above a protruding belly and open jaws with an incised beard, can be seen on a closely related jade figure, described as a horned demon, Song dynasty or earlier, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade throughout the ages, London, 1975, pl. 94. See another example, attributed to the 3rd-6th century, illustrated in René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, pl. 27. Compare also with a related Ming dynasty figure, illustrated in Gerald Tsang, Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 146; and another related figure sold at Christie's New York, 21st March 2014, lot 2499.

此玉雕雙瑞獸用單獨一塊籽料雕刻而成，瑞獸龍首人身、垂胸鼓腹之形象，在早期玉雕瑞獸中可見，參考一件宋或更早之帶角玉獸，見羅森，《Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages》，倫敦，1975年，圖版94。另可參考一件三至六世紀之近例，見 René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé，《Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection》，三藩市，1977年，圖版27。香港藝術館展出一件類似明代玉角獸亦可資參考，見《中國肖生玉雕》，香港，1996年，編號146。再參考一相類例，售於紐約佳士得2014年3月21日，編號2499。