An exceptional white jade carving of a seated mythical beast


Song/Ming DynastyExquisitely carved in the round as a seated mythical beast, probably xiezhi, resting on its rear haunches on an elaborately pierced rockwork, its single-horned head raised and portrayed with bulging eyes, a ridged nose and a curled beard above its ribbed neck, the horn flanked by delicately flowing manes in relief, the body skilfully picked out with a well-pronounced spine, the well-polished even white stone highlighted with minor russet inclusions. 6.1cm (2 1/2in) high.
|宋/明 白玉雕瑞獸擺件Provenance:A French private collectionMarchant, LondonExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition: Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, no.47來源：法國私人舊藏倫敦Marchant展覽、出版及著錄：Marchant，《玉器九十，90週年特展》，倫敦，2015年，編號47The finely carved and polished single-horn mythical beast, which could be identified as xiezhi, is a superb example of the jade carver's ability to take advantage of the pebble shape to create imaginary creatures of arresting sculptural quality at the time when fine quality white jade stone such as the present lot was precious to access.The xiezhi is a legendary mythical beast considered as a symbol of justice and law. The earliest record of xiezhi in literature dates back to the Han dynasty, where it is described as a strong mythical beast with one horn who settled disputes by directly ramming the party at fault.Compare with a related example of a Song dynasty yellow jade single-horned mythical beast from the Hangzhou History Museum, with similar execution of facial features such as the pointed nose and the finely incised beard, illustrated by Gu Fang, in The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades, Beijing, 2007, p.328. See also white jade squatting single-horned animal of similar form, Song dynasty, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (II), Hong Kong, p.67, no.57. Compare also with an excavated example of a white jade single-horned animal, Song dynasty, in the Zhejiang Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, Vol.8, Zhejiang, Beijing, 2005, p.218.A related example of qilin mythical beast in similar pose, Tang/Song dynasty, was included by Marchant in their 85th anniversary exhibition of Chinese Jades from Tang to Qing, 2010, pp.100-1, no.74; another mythical beast, probably also a qilin, in similar pose is illustrated by B.Morgan in Spink Ltd., Naturalism & Archaism: Chinese Jades from the Kirknorton Collection, London, 1995, no.57. See also a closely related white jade camel, Song dynasty or later, in the British Museum, London, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.369, no.26:12.白玉質，透潤溫糯，圓雕瑞獸坐於山石，瑞獸頭微揚，獨角後伏，鼓目凸唇，下顎有鬚，腦後披髪，背脊起圓潤棱線，山石以桯鉆鏤之，且琢出嶙峋之態。整體線條停勻流暢，雕琢細膩，打磨圓潤，盈手可愛。此件瑞獸獨角羊身，或為東漢以來所云獬豸，獬豸的形象東漢前莫衷一是，或云獨角羊者，或云獨角羊者，《後漢書·輿服志》：「法冠......或謂之獬豸冠。獬豸神羊，能別曲直，楚王嘗獲之，故以為冠。」後遂多以獨角羊的形象出現。杭州歷史博物館藏一件宋代玉獸，亦是獨角披髪，頷下有鬚，用刀藏鋒，打磨圓潤，本件拍品與其風格極似，見古方著，《中國古玉器圖典》，北京，2007年，頁328。另見北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件宋代玉異獸，著錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：玉器（中）》，香港，頁67，編號57。類似風格的獨角瑞獸還可參考一件杭州出土的宋代玉獨角獸，雖沁色嚴重，皮殼風化，仍可見其形象和雕工和本件拍品相通之處，見古方編，《中國出土玉器全集8·浙江卷》，北京，2005年，頁218。此件身形秀長停勻，用料透潤白皙，還可比較一件大英博物館藏宋代白玉駱駝之玉料和形態，二者如出一轍，見J.Rarowson著，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，2002年，圖版26:12， 頁369。另見英國布萊頓私人舊藏一件唐/宋時期白玉雕麒麟瑞獸，著錄於Marchant，《85th anniversary exhibition of Chinese Jades from Tang to Qing》，2010年，頁100-1，編號74；另見一件造型及玉質類似的玉雕瑞獸，亦或為麒麟，著錄於Brian Morgan，Spink Ltd.，《Naturalism & Archaism: Chinese Jades from the Kirknorton Collection》，1995年，編號57。大英博物館藏一件白玉雕臥駱駝，時代定為宋代或之後，其玉質及打磨都非常相似，見J.Rawson著，《Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁369，編號26:12。