A white jade mythical beast, tianlu


Ming DynastyExquisitely carved in round as a mythical beast resting on its haunches accentuated with tightly closed toenails and picked out with flaming motifs, the head slightly turned and crowned with two long horns, the face rendered with bulging eyes, small pointed ears and a ridged nose and ruyi-shaped nostrils above a curled beard, its bushy tail tri-furcated and curling up to its neck, the semi-translucent stone of even white tone with a small russet inclusion on the beast's horn, box. 5.4cm (2 1/8in) high (2).
|明 白玉雕天鹿Provenance:Durwin Tang Collection來源：鄧德雍收藏The very fine carving of a deer-like mythical beast, known as tianlu, is a superb example of the carver's ability to take advantage of the pebble shape to create imaginary creatures of compelling sculptural quality.The tianlu is a legendary mythical beast considered as a symbol of prosperity with the power to ward off evil. There is an old saying which translates as, 'tianlu knows all good and evil in the mortal realm, like a spirit and travelling in ghastly speed between the lands, if one meets its acquaintance, one will be blessed with wealth, longevity, health and prosperity'.Compare with a related example of a white jade camel, Song dynasty or later, with similar execution of facial features such as the pointed ears and bulging eyes, illustrated by J.Rawson in Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.369, no.26:12. See also another related jade dog from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, with similarly carved eyes, Southern Song/ Yuan dynasty, illustrated by M.Wilson in Chinese Jades, London, 2004, p.73, fig.77. See also a white jade mythical beast, Ming dynasty, illustrated in S.K.Fung and Y.Chun-tong eds., Exquisite Jade Carvings: Figures, Animals, Ornaments, Hong Kong, 1996, no.111, which was later sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4 April 2017, lot 3301.此件白玉天鹿玉質瑩潔，角帶黃沁，巧色天然，圓雕成形，藏鋒運刀，圓潤可愛。天鹿也稱為天祿，為瑞獸之一。《宋書·符瑞志下》曰：「天鹿者，純靈之獸也。無色光耀洞明，王者德備則至。」《唐六典》卷四將開元時期所見各類祥瑞分作「大瑞、上瑞、中瑞、下瑞」四等，其中天鹿列為最高級之大瑞。可參考一件宋代或更晚之白玉駱駝，其面部、眼耳之雕琢於本品頗似，見J.Rawson著《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁369，編號26:12。英國維多利亞和艾伯特博物館藏有一件南宋或元代之玉犬，眼部亦資參考，見M. Wilson著，《Chinese Jades》，倫敦，2004年，頁73，圖77。另有一件明代白玉獸可作參考，見楊玉棠及馮陳善奇著，《玲瓏玉雕一玉人、玉獸、玉飾》 ，香港，1996年，編號111，其後售於香港蘇富比，2017年4月4日，拍品3301號。