TWO RARE ROCK CRYSTAL BEARS

WESTERN HAN DYNASTY

細節

TWO RARE ROCK CRYSTAL BEARS
Western Han Dynasty
Each beast seated in a crouching position with right knee raised and left leg folded under the body, the right paw upraised by the large head encircled by an incised fringe of fur, with small circular drilled eyes and mouth opened in a warning growl
The larger bear 1in. (3.8cm.) high (2)

拍品專文

For a very similar example in rock crystal see J.J. Lally, Arts of the Han Dynasty, Catalogue, 1998, no. 19 where the author references a very similar Han jade carving of a bear in the same posture but with a flat back, from the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung, which was exhibited in 1995 at the British Museum and illustrated by Jessica Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, p. 359, no. 26:3, where the author points out that bears of this form were often cast in bronze, both as small sculptures and as supports for wine-warming tripod vessels of the type know as zun, sometimes made of lacquer with tilt metal mounts. For a rare example of the ding vessel form with bear-form supports, see the preceding lot.

A Han dynasty jade bear-shaped support from the Avery Brundage Collection is illustrated by Kiyohiko Munakata in Sacred Mountains in Chinese Art, p. 70, no. 16.

For an example in gilt-bronze see the exhibition, Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Gilt Bronzes from the Wessn and Other Collections, Eskenazi, 1980, Catalogue, pp 44-45, no. 22.