SONG-MING DYNASTY (AD 960-1644)

Details

A WHITE JADE 'EAGLE AND BEAR' GROUP
SONG-MING DYNASTY (AD 960-1644)
The group is carved as an eagle perched on top of the bear's back and pecking at its snout, with the mouth open and teeth bared. The stone is of a white tone with some areas of opaque mottling and fine russet veining.
1 ¾ in. (4.4 cm.) long, cloth box

Provenance

Malcolm Barnett, The Kirknorton Collection, Hong Kong.
Anthony Carter, London, 26 September 1995.
The LJZ Collection, United States.

Literature

B. Morgan and Li Boqian, Naturalism & Archaism: Chinese Jades from the Kirknorton Collection, London, 1995, no. 21.
A. Carter, The LJZ Collection of Chinese Jades, London, 2022, pp. 24-25, no. 7.

Exhibited

London, Carter Fine Art Ltd., Naturalism & Archaism: Chinese Jades from the Kirknorton Collection, 1995.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Compare the similar small white jade carving excavated from a tomb in Guiyang, Guizhou province, Guizhou Provincial Museum, illustrated by Gu Fang (ed.), The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 12, Beijing, 2005, where it is dated Qing dynasty and described as an eagle hunting a rabbit. However, the animal being attacked appears to be quite similar to the bear represented in the present carving.

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