A fine white jade carving of a mythical beast and cub


18th centurySkilfully carved as a recumbent mythical beast turning its head backward looking at its cub, the single-horned beast deftly portrayed with bulging eyes, raised eyebrows and hollowed ears above its closed mouth, the body accentuated with a defined knobbly spine flanked by finely incised manes terminating in a bushy tail, the stone of an even white stone with icy inclusions. 8.3cm (3 1/4in) long.
|十八世紀 白玉雕母子異獸擺件 Provenance:Mr and Mrs Emile Gavage-Longree, Liege, Belgium, purchased in the 1970sMarchant, LondonExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition: Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, no.62來源：比利時Emile Gavage-Longree伉儷舊藏，購於1970年代倫敦Marchant展覽、出版及著錄：Marchant，《玉器九十，90週年特展》，倫敦，2015年，編號62Compare with a similarly carved jade mythical beast, illustrated in Jade Blossom, Imperial Xiuneisi Jade Objects and Ancient Jade Gems Collected by the Xu's of Cixi, Zhejiang, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, 2010, pp.196-197; see also a further example from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated in A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection, 2015, no.9 (acc.no.02.18.381). 白玉質，白皙透潤，圓雕母子異獸，獅身獨角，母首橫臥，寬口，蒜鼻，鼓目，獨角後伏，頭髮向後披散，背脊連珠，兩側陰刻鬃毛，尾巴貼于後臀，小獸攀於母首身後，母子相望，生動傳神。此件或取材太獅少獅，而其形象又似獬豸，因其正直，明清人好以為飾。參看浙江省博物館曾展出類似一例，著錄於《玉蕤:浙江慈溪許氏藏皇宋修內司暨古代玉器珍品》，浙江，2010年，頁196-197；另見紐約大都會博物館藏一例，著錄於《A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection》，2015年，編號9，（館藏編號02.18.381）