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Lot Essay
This pendant belongs to a very rare group of twenty three white jade pieces, all inscribed with a Xuanhe date from the reign of Huizong of the Northern Song dynasty, as well as the imperial workshop name of Xiuneisi. This group includes eight pieces in the British Museum, one of which is almost identical to the current pendant, two in the Art Institute of Chicago, one each in the Beijing Palace Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge and nine from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III, sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 132.
There have been ongoing academic discussions over the dating of these inscribed jades, and James Watt, for example, has expressed concern over the legitimacy of a Xiuneisi attribution. Song dynasty historical records indicate that during the Northern Song, the 'Xiuneisi' was responsible for palace construction and maintenance works. By the Southern Song, the 'Xiuneisi' apparently became involved in producing paraphernalia for the amusement of the Song court, such as preparing late night snacks for New Year's Eve. The connection to Huizong's 'Xiuneisi' therefore remains dubious. Watt however proposes that it is possible that these pieces were carved in the late Jin-Southern Song or Yuan periods when both Xiuneisi and the Xuanhe era were regarded in public's imagaination as symbolic of refinement and elegance, although he remains open about the possibility of a later Ming or even Qing date. Jenny So, however, notes that while there is no clear evidence that these jades were associated directly with Huizong or even imperial Northern Song workshops, superb mutton-fat white jades were clearly available for elite consumption during the tenth through early twelfth centuries. Therefore there is good reason to believe these jades might have been made by the social and political elite of the time in both Liao and Song territory.
For more detailed discussions, refer to James Watt, Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, New York, 1980, p. 145-147, as well as Jenny F. So, 'The Case For (Or Against?) Huizong's Jades', Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 132.
There have been ongoing academic discussions over the dating of these inscribed jades, and James Watt, for example, has expressed concern over the legitimacy of a Xiuneisi attribution. Song dynasty historical records indicate that during the Northern Song, the 'Xiuneisi' was responsible for palace construction and maintenance works. By the Southern Song, the 'Xiuneisi' apparently became involved in producing paraphernalia for the amusement of the Song court, such as preparing late night snacks for New Year's Eve. The connection to Huizong's 'Xiuneisi' therefore remains dubious. Watt however proposes that it is possible that these pieces were carved in the late Jin-Southern Song or Yuan periods when both Xiuneisi and the Xuanhe era were regarded in public's imagaination as symbolic of refinement and elegance, although he remains open about the possibility of a later Ming or even Qing date. Jenny So, however, notes that while there is no clear evidence that these jades were associated directly with Huizong or even imperial Northern Song workshops, superb mutton-fat white jades were clearly available for elite consumption during the tenth through early twelfth centuries. Therefore there is good reason to believe these jades might have been made by the social and political elite of the time in both Liao and Song territory.
For more detailed discussions, refer to James Watt, Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing, New York, 1980, p. 145-147, as well as Jenny F. So, 'The Case For (Or Against?) Huizong's Jades', Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 132.