XUANDE INCISED SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND FOUR-CHARACTER YUYONGJIAN ZAO MARK, AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)

细节

A VERY RARE IMPERIAL CRESCENT-SHAPED WHITE JADE PENDANT
XUANDE INCISED SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND FOUR-CHARACTER YUYONGJIAN ZAO MARK, AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)
The pendant is pierced and carved in high relief with a striding mythical beast, its head turned to one side and mouth wide open to expose its fangs, its mane swept upwards in characteristic Ming style. The softly polished translucent stone is of an even white tone, the reign mark and Imperial atelier mark are incised on the underside.
2 in. (5 cm.) wide

出版

James C. Y. Watt, Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, The Asia Society, New York, 1980, p.23, figs. 3a & 3b

荣誉呈献

Nick Wilson

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拍品专文

This exceptionally rare piece is one of only two known examples of Xuande period jade carvings that bear the mark of the Imperial atelier, the 'Yuyongjian'. The other example, also of crescent shape and decorated with a goose/swan being snared by an eagle, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadeware II, Hong Kong, 1995, p.272, no. 208. The Yuyongjian is the Imperial workshop in the Ming period which produced everything from furniture to utensils in jade, cloisonne enamel and lacquer. Although many works of art in other media of the Xuande period bear this mark, it is very rare to find them on jade carvings. James Y.C. Watt suggests in the introduction to the exhibition catalogue Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing that the jade workshop of the Yuyongjian is thought to be located in the Jiangnan area, specifically Nanjing and Suzhou, a theory that is supported by the abundant archaeological excavations in the area.