Lot Essay
Other small jade bear carvings dated to the Han dynasty have been published, and each is different from the other. One such figure is the small white jade standing bear found in the area of the tomb of the Han emperor, Yuandi (r. 48-33 B.C.), near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, illustrated by Jessica Rawson in the Catalogue, Chinese Jade, from the Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum, 1995, p. 351, fig. 2 (a), where the author also illustrates a bear scratching its ear, in the British Museum, p. 350., fig. 1. Another small jade bear in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung is illustrated op. cit, p. 359, no. 26:3