A MOTTLED GREY AND BROWN JADE FIGURE OF A RECUMBENT DUCK

MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

Details

A MOTTLED GREY AND BROWN JADE FIGURE OF A RECUMBENT DUCK
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
Well carved with legs tucked under the body and head turned backward as it clutches a stem of millet in its faceted bill, which is carved with an angular scroll at the tip, with finely incised wing and tail feathers, the opaque grey-beige stone with brown inclusions
5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) long

Provenance

Collection of Lt. Col. and Mrs. W.B.R. Neave Hill.

Exhibited

London, Oriental Ceramics Society, The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, 15 November - 14 December 1957, no. 336.
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Oriental Ceramics Society, Chinese Jade throughout the Ages, 1 May - 22 June 1975, no. 361.

Lot Essay

Compare another jade figure of a recumbent duck also included in the O.C.S. exhibition, The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1957, pl. 90, no. 338, which like the present example has a faceted bill ending in an angular scroll. However, the stems grasped in its bill are lotus rather than millet.

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