HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 220)

A closely related carved jade bixie, also dated to the Han dynasty in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (I), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 240, no. 201. Though slightly longer in size (10.9 cm.), it is notable that both beasts are carved naturalistically with an alert posture and ferocious features. Compare also to another bixie dated to the Western Han dynasty in the collection of the Xianyang Museum in Shaanxi province, illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji-qin han, vol. 4, Shijiazhuang, 1993, p. 109, no. 148 (fig. 1).