MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

Details

A SUPERB YELLOW JADE FIGURE OF A RECUMBENT MYTHICAL BEAST
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
The boldly carved beast is shown with the head raised and turned slightly to the left. The chin, knobby back and flicked tail are finely incised to indicate fur, while each shoulder and haunch are carved with a foliate scroll in low relief. The softly polished stone is of an even yellow tone with russet-brown striations and some pale inclusions.
4 1/8 in. (10.8 cm.) long, hardwood stand

Provenance

‌The Gerald Godfrey Collection.
The Gerald Godfrey Private Collection of Fine Chinese Jades; Christie's Hong Kong, 30 October 1995, lot 866.

Literature

P. Cardeiro, “Chinese Jade: The Image from Within,” Arts of Asia, November-December 1985, pp. 151-154, fig. 3.
Pacific Asia Museum, Chinese Jade: The Image from Within, Pasadena, 1986, p. 44, no. 64.
Wu Hung, “Tradition and Innovation: Ancient Chinese Jades in the Gerald Godfrey Collection,” Orientations, November 1986, p. 41, fig. 10.
‌C. W. Kelley, Stones of Virtue: Chinese Jades from the Gerald Godfrey Collection, Dayton, 1989, p. 47, no. 232.
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Magic, Art & Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs, 1990, p. 97, no. 96.

Exhibited

Pasadena, Pacific Asia Museum, Chinese Jade: The Image from Within, 1986.
San Antonio, San Antonio Museum of Art, 1986.
Dayton, The Dayton Art Institute, January 1989.
Palm Springs, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Magic, Art & Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, 8 February – 29 April 1990.
Charlottesville, Worrell Family Offices Gallery, 1995-2022.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

In “Tradition and Innovation: Ancient Chinese Jades in the Gerald Godfrey Collection,” Orientations, November 1986, p. 41, Wu Hung comments on the composite style of this lively animal, which has a dragon’s body, a lion’s tail and a bear-like head, with “an almost child-like expression.”

Another yellow jade mythical beast with similar knobbed spine and softly rounded features is illustrated by James Watt in Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing , no. 49. Watt refers to the "soft texture and warm tone of the yellow jade, together with the plastic qualities of the carving, making this piece especially attractive to the lover of jade.” Watt also notes that yellow jades were popular in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, primarily in the 14th-15th centuries, and were the preference of Ming dynasty literati. Examples of this can be found in the writings of Ming dynasty literati Gao Lian and Xie Zhaozhe.

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