A very fine jade pig carving


Han DynastyThe finely polished stone carved in the form of a recumbent pig with a flat snout and pointed ears, the body carved with deep slanting grooves delineating the front and rear legs, the stone of yellowish-green tone with highlights ranging from dark brown to pale green. 11.2cm (4 1/2in) long.
|漢 玉豬握Provenance:The Idemitsu Collection, TokyoRoger Keverne Ltd., LondonAn English private collectionPublished and Illustrated:Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, no.171Roger Keverne Ltd., Fine and Rare Chinese Works of Art and Ceramics. Summer Exhibition, 2004, no.70來源：東京出光美術館舊藏倫敦Roger Keverne有限公司英國私人收藏出版及著錄：《中国の工芸：出光美術館藏品図錄》，東京，1989年，編號171Roger Keverne有限公司，《Fine and Rare Chinese Works of Art and Ceramics. Summer Exhibition》，2004年，編號70A number of jade pig carvings in pairs were unearthed in tombs dated to the Han dynasty. Compare with two pairs excavated in Jiangsu Province, Western Han dynasty, which are illustrated by Gu Fang in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China: Jiangsu and Shanghai, Beijing, 2005, pp.140-141; compare also with two other similar jade pigs, Eastern Han dynasty, unearthed in Shannxi Province, ibid., vol.14, pp.168-169; a third pair of similar jade pigs, Han dynasty, were sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 31. 青玉質，褐色沁，玉握長條，斜刀陰刻成豬形，尾部小穿，用刀簡略快意，俗稱「漢八刀」。手中握物的葬俗最晚始於新石器時代，到了商周，玉握開始逐漸取代牙質握，漢代豬稱為財富的象征，由此出現了玉豬握，且玉又比其他材質高級。尾部小穿用於穿線將玉豬固定在死者手中，防止脫落。漢代墓葬出土玉豬甚夥，可比較兩對出土於江蘇的西漢玉豬，見古方編，《中國出土玉器全集7·江蘇上海卷》，北京，2005年，頁140及141；另外有兩對東漢玉豬出土於陝西亦可比較之，見古方編，《中國出土玉器全集14·陝西卷》，北京，2005年，頁168及169。還可比較思源堂舊藏一對漢代玉豬握，2016年4月5日售於香港邦瀚斯，拍品編號31。